1 Shilling - Elizabeth II (1st Portrait - without "F:D:")
Australia • 1 Shilling • Silver (.500) • 1953–1954
- Denomination
- 1 Shilling
- Issuer
- Australia
- Struck
- 1953–1954
- Composition
- Silver (.500)
- Currency
- Pound
- Weight
- 5.65 g
- Diameter
- 23.5 mm
- Catalog refs
- KM 53 · Schön 40
Where to find one
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Where it came from
The 1953 Australian shilling holds a unique position in numismatics due to a notable omission in the royal titles. Minted in the year of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the obverse bears the first portrait of the monarch designed by Mary Gillick. In the initial production run, the inscription omitted the letters 'F:D:', standing for 'Fidei Defensor' or 'Defender of the Faith', which had been a standard component of royal titles on British and Commonwealth coinage for centuries.
The design choice to exclude these letters caused public outcry upon the coin's release, as the title was considered an essential component of the Sovereign's official style. The controversy led to the swift modification of the dies to include the abbreviation in subsequent years. Because this error was rectified so quickly, the 1953 'no F:D' shilling remains a distinct marker of the transition in royal protocol and an early point of contention in the numismatic history of Elizabeth II's reign.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
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About 1 Shilling - Elizabeth II (1st Portrait - without "F:D:")
1 Shilling - Elizabeth II (1st Portrait - without "F:D:") is a coin in the Coins catalog on collecto.rs. Australia • 1 Shilling • Silver (.500) • 1953–1954. Catalog data is sourced from Numista. No collectors on collecto.rs publicly track this coin yet — adding yours would make you the first.
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Where does the 1 Shilling - Elizabeth II (1st Portrait - without "F:D:") catalog entry come from?
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