5 Pounds - Edward VIII Pattern

Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936 before any coins bearing his effigy entered circulation, which makes every piece struck in his name a pattern or proof produced for internal Royal Mint purposes rather than public issue. This five pound piece was struck in 1937 — after the abdication — almost certainly as part of the Mint's routine proof set production for the incoming George VI coinage, where Edward VIII patterns were completed simply to close out the interrupted series.

Edward famously insisted his portrait face left, breaking the centuries-old tradition of alternating directions between monarchs. George VI's coinage ultimately faced left as well, to maintain the break from Edward rather than honor the convention.