Blank flan with edge lettering “DECUS ET TUTAMEN ANNO REGNI QUINTO” – William IV

Hi,

I’d appreciate help identifying this blank flan with edge lettering only.

Both sides are flat and unstruck, but the edge reads in raised letters:

DECUS ET TUTAMEN ANNO REGNI QUINTO.

Metal: copper or bronze – Weight: 8.51 g – Diameter: 27 mm.

The rim shows light metal swelling typical of an edge-lettering collar test.

Possibly a Royal Mint trial for William IV (5th year, 1835), maybe for a Shilling module.

Any similar examples or references would be very welcome.

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=DECUS+ET+TUTAMEN+ANNO+REGNI+QUINTO.&category=1-2&lot=&date_from=&date_to=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1

Thanks a lot for the link!

I checked that 1718 George I Crown — it does have the same edge inscription, but mine seems quite different.

Mine is 27 mm, 8.51 g, made of bronze, and both sides are completely blank (no design at all).

The edge text also has no dots or crosses, only spaces between the words.

So it looks more like an edge-lettering trial flan, maybe a test piece from the Royal Mint around William IV’s 5th year (1835).

Your reference still helped me confirm that the wording was officially used on earlier crowns — really appreciate it! 🙏