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You can capture the magic of a century past with this elegant addition to your coin collection. The Great Britain crown dates back to the unification of the Scottish throne and the English throne after Queen Elizabeth I died. As the queen famously never married and therefore produced no heirs, her kingdom was handed off to her nearest living relative: James VI of Scotland. This was an empire changing revelation, because until that time the Scottish and English monarchy were in direct competition with one another. Unified under King James when he was crowned, the modern United Kingdom of Great Britain was born. In place of the existing English crown, King James created the politically correct Great British crown. The 1890 Great Britain crown is a silver coin that features the bust of Queen Victoria wearing her royal crown, a classic veil covering her hair and neck, and a string of pearls. On the back of the coin, you’ll find a portrait of St. George, the patron saint of England. He has a sword in hand and rides on the back of a horse as he slays a dragon huddled at the feet of the Saint’s steed. A cape flutters out behind him while the muscular horse rears up on its hind legs and puts on a brave face. The total weight of the coin is about 28 grams, and the fineness of the silver is 0.9250. Though crowns no longer make up part of the British currency, at the time it was worth 5 shillings, estimated as 25 modern pence. In 1990, due to the popularity of commemmorative Great Britain crowns at home and abroad, the new face value was changed to equal 5 pounds. English pounds were also originally valued at 5 shillings or 25 modern pence. Since the British crown is a heavy coin, its use in actual transactions declined during the 19th and 20th centuries. Instead of spending them, people began to collect the crowns when they were newly minted. As a result of this behavior, the crown is now purely minted as a collectible coin. The 1890 Great Britain crown is also known as the Jubilee Head Crown, as it features Queen Victoria’s portrait as designed in 1887, during her 50th anniversary on the throne--also known as her Jubilee year. This particular profile portrait was used on all coins minted by the Royal Mint at the time, and is often referred to as "Mature Victoria."