King Edward VIII was famous for his vanity.
As a young man, he defied tradition by wearing the latest fashions, especially flannel pants with sports jackets, cuffed trousers, and baggy golf pants.
His particular way of tying his tie has gone down in history books as the “Windsor knot.”
He was also proud of his profile, particularly his left side, with its distinctive parting.
Unfortunately, this penchant for looking to the left would put the King in a direct collision – and a heated fight – with the Royal Mint.
This royal brouhaha over the production of coins for the never-crowned king is one of the highlights of the new exhibition Money Talks: Art, Society and Power at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
It delves into the complex, tense and often humorous relationship between art, money and society, using more than 100 objects, from ancient Persian gold coins to images of Grayson Perry and Banksy.
King Edward VIII facing left in a portrait photograph taken by Hugh Cecil for the planned depiction of the monarch on coins, 1936
One of the sample coins produced by the Royal Mint featuring the profile of King Edward VIII. It is one of the highlights of the new exhibition ‘Money Talks: Art, Society & Power’, at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
British coinage has a curious tradition: since the 17th century, the profile of a new monarch must face in the opposite direction to that of his predecessor.
For 300 years this was not a problem, until the precious Edward became King after the death of his father George V in January 1936.
Unfortunately, George was a left-facing king, which meant it was Edward’s turn to be depicted facing right.
Just a month after Edward’s accession, Sir Robert Johnson, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint, arrived at Buckingham Palace with a wax impression of the new design.
The King immediately complained that the coin was facing left, and Johnson returned to the Mint in disgrace.
To the Palace’s embarrassment, the wax model left for the King quickly (and suspiciously) “disappeared.”
In April, Eduardo posed for two artists who sketched designs for the new coin, one with a crown and one without.
Johnson invited himself to answer any “uncomfortable” questions.
Edward stubbornly refused to sit facing right, so the session ended in a huge row, with Johnson pompously insisting that the King had to follow tradition.
“It’s my face that’s going to be used,” the monarch raged.
“Isn’t it reasonable that at least I have the privilege of deciding which side will be publicly displayed?”
Thomas Humphrey Paget’s study of Edward VIII on the reverse of a letter of appointment
A letter to medal and coin designer Thomas Humphrey Paget to arrange a meeting with him and King Edward VIII, along with fellow designer Percy Metcalfe, April 1936
A rejected design for a half crown that would have featured a depiction of Edward VIII
The specimen coins, known as “Patterns”, were produced after King Edward VIII succeeded his father in January 1936. They were due to go into production on 1 January 1937, but Edward’s abdication halted production. Edward later requested a set of the coins, but his brother, King George VI, refused.
King Edward VIII was famous for his vanity. Above: The then Prince of Wales in military uniform
Back at the Royal Mint, a furious Johnson contacted the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Neville Chamberlain, who held the ex officio position of Master of the Mint.
A Daily Mail report from January 1937 detailing how the Royal Mint had not revealed which direction the King George VI coin would face.
Jonson insisted that the king should follow tradition. Chamberlain, who had more important matters to worry about, told Johnson to let Edward do as he pleased.
New wax models were made, facing left, with their hair carefully combed. Thorny Edward was delighted with the result.
The Royal Mint scheduled the public release of the ‘King Edward Penny’ for 8am on 1 January 1937 and, when technicians pressed the button to start production, they must have been satisfied that nothing further could go wrong.
Unfortunately, like 99.9 percent of the country, they had not heard of Wallis Simpson and the ill-fated royal romance that ended with her abdication on December 10, 1936.
After all the torment of producing the coins, the Royal Mint now had the frustrating task of having to melt down thousands of coins that would now never reach the hands of the public.
Fortunately, a few proof copies survived. In June 1938, Edward’s successor, George VI (whose coins were issued without problems and in record time), learned that some series had escaped incineration.
The new King asked if he could have one for the Royal Collection and of course it was duly sent to him.
The remaining games were placed in a cardboard box and marked with the words: “Not to be opened except in the presence of two senior officials.”
One such set of historical evidence is on display at the Ashmolean exhibition.
King Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936 because of his desire to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Edward, then Prince of Wales, seen with his brothers, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (left) and Prince Albert, Duke of York, who would later reign as King George VI.
Former King Edward VIII, now Duke of Windsor, holds a copy of his 1951 memoirs, A King’s Story
One person who did not receive a coin collection was Edward himself. In 1951, he heard about the existence of the collections and asked the Royal Mint if he could have a collection bearing his image.
The decision was passed down the chain of command to George VI himself, who was then suffering from cancer and was also furious at the publication of his brother’s self-serving autobiography, A King’s Story, the previous year. He refused the request.
George VI also defied Edward in designing his own coins. Like his father, George V, the new king also took on the left in banknotes and coins.
The public, then, who had not seen the Mint’s specimens, would have assumed that Edward would have appeared correctly on his coins had he remained king.
Queen Elizabeth II, who became monarch upon the death of her father, George VI, in 1952, appeared facing right on coins issued during her 70-year reign.
And on the newly issued coins featuring King Charles, the monarch is once again looking to the left. Oh, and he also gets a chance to say goodbye!
Money Talks: Art, Society & Power will be on view at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford until 5 January 2025.