It is the coin that never was.

A magnificent gold sovereign never went into circulation because three weeks before production was due to begin came the shock announcement of Edward VIII's abdication.

Now to mark the 80th anniversary of the scandal that rocked the monarchy, the Royal Mint is putting on display a set of ultra-rare coins which never saw the light of day.

While at first sight the design of the gold sovereign - worth around £500,000 today - is familiar, to the expert it offers a telling insight into the strong-willed personality of the ill-fated king.

Since the reign of his predecessor Charles II in the 17th century, all British monarchs had featured on coins with their profile facing to the right.

But Edward insisted on bucking tradition, saying that facing left would show his 'better side' and display his side parting rather than a solid mass of hair.

Another break with the mould was his demand for more modern designs on the other side of the new coins, the new exhibition reveals.

The result was two of Britain's best-loved coin designs - the wren and the ship - which were so well thought of that they later featured on the farthing and halfpenny coins of his successor George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

Graham Dyer, senior research curator at the Royal Mint Museum, said: 'In 1972 after the death of the Duke of Windsor, as a young curator, I was asked to go through the files and write an account of what had been done back in 1936.

'What I discovered was that the Royal Mint had actually made all the preparations to start production of the new coins on 1 January 1937, geared up to strike the first coins at 8am on that day.'

The coins are on permanent display at The Royal Mint Experience, a £9million visitor attraction which opened in South Wales in May.

They have previously been displayed at the British Museum but never before at the Royal Mint.

To read the complete article, see:
The coin that never was: Magnificent gold sovereign bearing Edward VIII's head is now worth a king's ransom(www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3857580/The-coin-never-was.html)

One of the rarest coins ever made, which was designed for Edward VIII's reign but never used because he abdicated, has been put on public display for the first time.

The gold sovereign also shows how the king's vanity led him to break with tradition. According to custom, coins depict the monarch facing in the opposite direction to their predecessor. However, instead of facing right, because George V had faced left, Edward insisted on also facing left because he preferred that profile.

To read the complete article, see:
Vain king's downfall produced rarest coin(www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vain-king-s-downfall-produced-rarest-coin-p8wckvk69?shareToken=5755b3297e9d36ed7eaaf563a456d9cc)