102962 | GREAT BRITAIN. Prince Edward silver Medal.

102962  |  GREAT BRITAIN. Prince Edward silver Medal. Issued 1911. Commemorating the Investiture of the future Edward VIII as the Prince of Wales (34mm, 12h) by William Goscombe John for the London mint.

 

INVESTITURE • OF • EDWARD • PRINCE • OF • WALES • K • G, crowned, draped, and ermine-mantled bust facing slightly left // • ARWISGIAD • IORWERTH TYWYSOG • CYMRU • M • G •, façade of Caernarvon Castle; above, crowned plumes within Collar of the Garter.

 

BHM 4079; Eimer 1925; Giordano CM23b. NGC MS-65. Gunmetal gray toning, with some delightful iridescence throughout. Mintage: 5,441. Compare to similar examples that realized $1,320 in the Heritage Spring 2023 Tokens & Medals auction (lot 22345), $780 in the Stack's Bowers February 2022 CCO (lot 74143), and $600 (after buyer's fee) in Classical Numismatic Group auction 117 (lot 1096).

 

Prince Edward took over as sovereign of the British Empire following the death of his father early in 1936. Edward's love for American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, created a scandal of epic proportions, as Simpson's divorced status made her an unsuitable consort for the new king. Nevertheless, Edward was undeterred, and took the unimaginable step of abdicating the throne in favor of his younger brother, Prince Albert, before the end of the year. Albert was crowned as King George VI, while Edward agreed to live in exile in France, with his new bride, taking on the honorary title of the Duke of Windsor.

 

Upload: 1 November 2024.