What is old ... what is not? Learning to tell the difference between a Victorian Crown, a Kings Crown, and a Queens Crown will save the neophyte collector a lot of grief as will the ability to differentiate between the various royal cyphers. Hopefully this page will address some of the frustration that confronts all of us, veteran and beginner alike, when we pick up that unusual "what-is-it" piece at the odd antique shop.
By learning a little about the seven monarchs whose reigns are pertinent to collecting British police memorabilia, one can generally identify many memorabilia pieces found today.
When modern, organized policing began to develop in Great Britain in the 1830's the reigning monarch was William IV .... his cypher, or royal initials, "WIVR" "WIIIIR" "WRIV" "WR" and even "Wm IV" are often found painted on the older police truncheons which would date them pre-1837.
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. Her cypher, "VR" is usually painted in gold on the truncheons of that period. As the photo indicates, the Victorian, or Guelphic, crown is quite distinct from the later two crowns.
Edward VII was king from 1901 through 1910 and it was during this period that the "kings' crown" (also known as the Imperial or Tudor crown) came into use. This crown is easily identified by the single rounded dome top. Edward's cypher "EVIIR" is found on only four forces helmet plates and a small collection of truncheons. For the most part, no cypher, and oftentimes, no crown, was used on Edwardian helmet plates.
King George V reigned from 1910 to 1936. His crown was the Imperial or Tudor crown. His cypher is easily identifiable due to the roman numeral "V", and is displayed on a number of helmet plates and truncheons of the period.
King Edward VIII reigned for less than a year in 1936. His crown was the Imperial or Tudor crown. To find his cypher on any police insignia is extremely rare because of his very short reign. An interesting story about several Metropolitan Police helmet plates bearing the ERVIII cypher can be found elsewhere in this web site.
George VI was king from 1936 until 1952. His crown was the Imperial or Tudor crown. His cypher is easily identifiable due to the roman numeral "VI", and is displayed on a number of helmet plates and truncheons of the period.
Queen Elizabeth II has been the ruling monarch since 1952. Her crown, the Edward or Queen's crown, is also easily identified because of the twin rounded domes topping it.
With no intent to confuse or frustrate collectors it is necessary to note several caveats, exceptions, and important facts about helmet plates.
• Many Victorian era forces either wore no helmet plate or their's bore no crown.
• Some Victorian era forces (mostly Scottish) wore the same insignia on their collars, caps, and helmets!
• Several forces continued to wear the Victorian crown on their insignia for many years into the 20th Century (i.e. Wolverhampton until 1963)
• One force, Blackburn Borough, re-introduced the Victorian crown on the helmet plates they wore during the 1950's-60's.
• Most Victorian and early Kings' Crown badges were made of white metal or brass that was painted black. Chrome plating did not begin until 1936 so one can assume that white metal badges are pre-1936 and chrome badges are post-1936.
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