British Coronation Medals
From the time of the Stuart kings up to the coronation
of Queen Victoria, gold and silver medals were scattered randomly to the
onlooking crowd during the coronation service. These official coronation
medals were intended by the newly crowned king or queen to be an
expression of largesse toward their royal subjects.
As the crowds for successive coronations grew larger, the cost of
this generosity to the Royal Treasury grew as well. The mad dash for the
medals among the onlookers also became increasingly "unseemly."
According to one report of a near-riot during the coronation of William
IV, "It was a fine sight to see all the judges scrambling for medals,
they appeared like so many rams in a pen, butting to get out . . . [the
report] set the House of Commons in a roar, clapping, etc. Nothing could
have been more ludicrous."
Edward VII would not allow such an untoward scene to ruin the
splendor and gravity of his coronation. When he ascended the throne in
1901, he established a new tradition: medals were individually awarded
as an honor to those individuals who assisted in the coronation
ceremony; none were tossed to the crowd, nor have any been so
distributed since.
Both types of medals--those given as awards and those thrown to the
crowd during the coronation ceremony--were similar in their basic
design. The obverse featured an image of the new sovereign, while the
reverse usually carried a few lines of text describing the occasion.
British Coronation Medals
 Charles II, 1661 (mintage unknown)
William and Mary, 1689 (mintage 515)
Anne, 1702 (mintage 858)
George I, 1714 (mintage 330)
George II, 1727 (mintage 238)
Caroline, wife of George II, 1727 (mintage 138)
George III, 1761 (mintage 858)
George III, 1761 (gilt bronze; mintage unknown, but only
three examples known)
Charlotte, wife of George III, 1761 (mintage 150)
George IV, 1821 (mintage 1,060)
William IV, 1831 (mintage 1,000)
Victoria, 1838 (mintage 1,369)
Edward VII, 1901 (mintage 2,278)
George V, 1911 (mintage 719)
George VI, 1937 (mintage 422)
All coronation medals from the collection of David
Schenkman.
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