1 Crown - George III Pattern

The 1818 Pattern Crown was part of the Royal Mint's preparation for a major recoinage — the first serious attempt to overhaul British silver since the disastrous hammered-coin recall of the 1690s had left the currency in persistent disorder. Benedetto Pistrucci had recently arrived in London and was asserting himself at the Mint; the competing pattern submissions of this period reflect genuine internal tension over who would control the new coinage's aesthetic direction.

Pistrucci ultimately won that argument. His St George design was adopted for the circulation strike issued the same year.