King George VI coronation medal 1937.
A unique piece of Australian history is this vintage patinated white metal souvenir token to commemorate the Coronation of Their Majesties.
This is a good example of the commemorative medal distributed to Victorian school children to celebrate the coronation of King George VI in 1937.
The coronation date was 12 May 1937 and was celebrated fifteen days earlier than the date intended for the coronation of Edward VIII who had abdicated due to his affair with Mrs Simpson.
Design
Obverse – Crowned conjoined busts of the King and Queen with the legend KING GEORGE VI & QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Reverse – The arms of Victoria with the legend ‘TO COMMEMORATE THEIR MAJESTIES CORONATION MAY 12TH 1937’.
Weighs 46gm
History
George VI’s coronation took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for Edward’s coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son. There was no Durbar held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the government of India. Rising Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best, and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before the Second World War. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war.
*All biographical details taken from  Wikipedia for educational purposes only.
