1951 Great Britain Festival of Britain Proof Set

The Royal Mint's Festival of Britain proof set of 1951, ten denominations from the crown down to the farthing, issued for the Festival in the blue box with the Royal Mint arms and the Festival legend in gilt on the cover. Some 20,000 sets were made. None of the 1951 coinage is silver. Britain left the silver standard in 1946, so the crown, halfcrown, florin, both shillings and the sixpence are cupro-nickel, the threepence is brass, and the penny, halfpenny and farthing are bronze. The crown is the Festival issue, Pistrucci's Saint George and the dragon on the reverse, struck only in 1951 and only as a proof. The set also carries both shillings, English and Scottish, and the 1951 penny, which was struck in tiny numbers for Britain and is the piece most sets are missing. The coins are out of the box and housed in individual cardboard holders. The box itself shows rubbing to the gilt and wear at the corners and edges.