'Extremely rare' King Edward VIII coin goes on display

An "extremely rare" coin featuring King Edward VIII has gone on display to mark the 80th anniversary of his abdication.

The Royal Mint was due to start striking the coins on 1 January, 1937, but production was stopped when the King stood down after less than a year on the throne.

He turned down his right to rule in order to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

The coin is being displayed at The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant.

Graham Dyer, senior research curator at The Royal Mint Museum said: "There was such an air of mystery about the coinage of Edward VIII.

"The Royal Mint had actually made all the preparations to start production of the new coins on 1 January, 1937, and geared up to strike the first coins at 8am on that day."

Following his abdication, Edward VIII requested a set of the coins, but King George VI refused as they had never been issued and were not deemed to be official UK coinage.

All that remains are some extremely rare patterns and trial pieces, among them the Sovereign.