1 Crown - Elizabeth II Churchill

Issued the year after Churchill's death in January 1965, this crown was the first British coin to bear the portrait of a non-royal since the Napoleonic era — a deliberate exception made by the Queen herself, who approved Churchill's inclusion by royal prerogative. The decision bypassed the normal parliamentary process entirely.

Over 19 million were struck, making it one of the most widely distributed commemorative crowns in British history. Most were bought as souvenirs and never entered circulation, which is why worn examples are genuinely harder to find than uncirculated ones.