Thrupenny bit bearing the head of King Edward VIII before he abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Simpson on sale for £30,000

Royal Mint made the 12-sided coin dated 1937 after King George V died



Prince Edward succeeded his father but abdicated before his coronation

He was succeeded by his brother, King George VI, in December 1936



An incredibly rare coin bearing the likeness of King Edward VIII which was made before he famously abdicated his throne has emerged for sale for £30,000.



The 12-sided coin, worth just threepence when it was made, was an experimental piece produced by the Royal Mint after the death of King George V.



Edward automatically succeeded his father but abdicated before his coronation so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

One of only ten ever made: An incredibly rare coin bearing the head of King Edward VIII which was made before he famously abdicated has emerged for sale for £30,000

Rare: The coin was made by the Royal Mint following the death of George V in January 1936 and before Prince Edward VIII abdicated his throne in December that year to marry Wallis Simpson, pictured together in 1937

While commemorative Royal China was mass-produced to honour the new King, hardly any coins with his head on were created.



The piece now for sale was one of no more than 10 brass pattern threepence coins produced by the Mint.

The reverse has an emblem of a thrift plant and the date of 1937. Edward abdicated in December 1936 and was succeeded by his brother, King George VI.



The coin has been owned by a private collector of historic British coins for the last 20 years and he has now decided to sell it at auction.



Nigel Kirk, of Nottingham-based auctioneers Mellors and Kirk, said: 'Very few of these coins were made, possibly only about five or 10.

Prince Edward was succeeded by his brother King George VI, pictured with Queen Elizabeth at a celebration for D-Day on June 8, 1946

'When Edward decided to abdicate all the makers of commemorative China had manufactured their wares.



'People who have pieces now think they are rare and valuable but they aren't.



'However the Royal Mint only experimented with coinage and hardly any of them crept into circulation in error.



'Edward was effectively King for a year and the Mint was a bit late in producing these coins, probably because they were experimenting with radical, art deco shapes like this one.



'This is coming from a private collector who has spent 25 years forming a large collection of English coins dating back to the 16th century.



'We have had quite a lot of interest in it. It would be the jewel in the crown to many coin collections.'



The coin is due to be sold on Tuesday.

Collectible: Edward, the Duke of Windsor, pictured with his wife Wallis in 1963, was effectively King for nearly a year before he abdicated. The rare coin has been in the keeping of a private collector



