Concerning Proofs of the 1960 British Exhibition Crown

[copper123]

I remain a nonbeliever till the royal mint sez they have been sent a real silver one to authenticate.

[Peckris 2]

I wonder at the terms "extremely" "very" and "excessively" used for rarity. Were these simply hype words (like "BU Gem" used by so many dealers) or are they based on known facts? It's interesting that the 1960 silver crown ("very rare") was offered at a significantly cheaper price than the other two, one being the long known 'sandblasted' 1953 crown.

[VickySilver]

Yes, I noticed that too - relative rarity - but maybe dependent on demand as well?

[Mr T]

On 8/20/2025 at 1:36 AM, joe_77 said:

Due to Graham Dyer's retirement from the RMM, the RMM is not able to either forward our queries to him or share his contact details. I tried writing to the BANS but so far no reply.

Anyone has a way of getting in contact with him?

Oh, is he still working on that book? I think it was mentioned in Coin News a few times.

[Mr T]

On 8/20/2025 at 1:36 AM, joe_77 said:

Due to Graham Dyer's retirement from the RMM, the RMM is not able to either forward our queries to him or share his contact details. I tried writing to the BANS but so far no reply.

Anyone has a way of getting in contact with him?

Oh, is he still working on that book? I think it was mentioned in Coin News a few times.

[joe_77]

Good morning everyone! Haven't posted in a while!

I was able to get in touch with Mr. Dyer back in September. Although I am still waiting for some additional clarification here is his initial take on the issues at hand. Firstly, concerning the existence of a silver crown:

Quote

Your first question concerns the existence of a specimen in silver [of the crown piece of 1960]. I do not remember ever having seen such a piece or ever having found a reference in the Mint records to the striking of specimens in silver. That is not to say, of course, that one does not exist since such abnormal pieces were unfortunately seldom mentioned in the official records and tended to slip through under the radar.

Secondly, concerning the whole VIP vs Proof vs whatnot debate:

Quote

[In regards to] the VIP version of full proof standard with frosted designs. Here I can at least say that 200 were struck in time for the Exhibition and of these 192 in leatherette cases were sent to New York, where they were no doubt intended for presentation to VIPs and other deserving recipients. This was evidently done sparingly since the records indicate that 164 were returned from New York after the Exhibition. Their subsequent disposal has not been recorded in detail but it seems likely that some were used for presentation purposes and a remaining surplus destroyed.
As for the polished die version, the records show that 150,400 were struck and sent to New York in plastic cases. Sales, as you know, did not reach anything like this level and 115,986 were returned after the Exhibition. The returned coins were removed from their cases and were issued to banks in the normal way along with the ordinary crowns.

I shall update the thread in case I receive more details!

[VickySilver]

Thanks for that. It seems, if we take him exactly that the proofs are a lot more common that the much lower figures we had seen before (which I have always felt to be the case given the frequency of their sales). It does leave that bit of the auction record though....