In 1936 King George V died.  Upon his death his eldest son became King Edward VIII.  The Monarch is also the head of the Anglican Church. Edward wanted to marry Mrs W. Simpson however the morality of the church at the time would not permit him to marry a divorcee.  A crisis developed which was resolved when Edward abdicated the Throne for himself and any heirs.

Edward's eldest brother was crowned King George VI.  However during the period from the death of King George V to the abdication of Edward VIII, coins were struck and distributed for a few colonies, including British West Africa, East Africa and Fiji.  None of these were portrait coins.

The Edward VIII coins are keenly sought after because of the brief period that they circulated.  To satisfy collector demand fantasy Edward VIII coins were struck for 24 of the Colonies of 1936.  The coins have a portrait of Edward VIII on the obverse and the reverse had an image related to the coinage of each particular colony.

The first fantasy pieces were struck about 15 years ago in silver.  Since then a bi-metallic has been struck for 21 of the colonies, and in recent times a tri-metallic has also been struck for a few of the colonies.

Below are the Obverse of these 3 types and the reverses of the 21 Bi-metallics and the Tri-metallic reverse for Australia.
 

Edward VIII Obverses in Silver, Bi-metallic & Tri-metallic

Reverses for  Australia,   Bermuda  and British East Africa (this must be
a combination of British West Africa and East Africa)

Reverses for  Canada,  Ceylon  and Cyprus.

Reverses for  Falkland Islands,  Gibraltar  &  Gold Coast.

Reverses for  Great Britain,  Hong Kong and India.

Reverses for  Isle of Man,  Mauritius and Newfoundland.

Reverses for  New Guinea,  New Zealand  and Palestine.

Reverses for  Sierra Leone and South Africa.

Reverses for  Southern Rhodesia and Straits Settlements.

We have been advised by Coincraft of London that there were only the above 21
bi-metallic reverses struck. If any member has an Edward VIII tri-metallic other
than the Australia shown above please send a scan to Rod Sell for inclusion in this page.