Description

Edward VII. 1901-1910. Gold Medal 1902, 91.89 g. Coronation of Edward VII. By G. de Saulles. Bust, crowned and uniformed. EDWARD VII CROWNED 9 . AUGUST 1902. Rv. Bust, crowned, veiled and draped. ALEXANDRA QUEEN CONSORT. Below ribbon inscribed 9 . AUG . 1902. Plain edge. 55.7 mm. Eimer 1871a. BHM 3737. FDC / Mint State. Im Originaletui / In original box. Mattiert / Matte finish.

Purchased from Seaby, London, May 1975, lot GM318.

The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony had been postponed at very short notice, because the King had been taken ill with an abdominal abscess that required immediate surgery.

In contrast to the coronation of Queen Victoria, Edward's mother and predecessor, some 64 years earlier, Edward and Alexandra's coronation had been carefully planned as a spectacle reflecting the influence and culture of the British Empire, then at the height of its power, but also as a meaningful religious occasion.

Official Royal Mint issue and one of 878 specimens struck in gold in the years 1902 and 1903 with a diameter of 55 mm.