The edge of the 1951 crown coin reads: MDCCCLI CIVIUM INDUSTRIA FLORET CIVITAS MCMLI This is Latin for '1851 By the industry of its people the state flourishes 1951. The Festival site was, over the following thirty years, developed into the South Bank Centre, an arts complex comprising the Royal Festival Hall, the National Film Theatre, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and the National Theatre. This image shows people relaxing on the terrace of the Festival's Regatta Restaurant, sitting on 'Antelope' and 'Springbok' chairs designed by Ernest Race.

The National Archives has a wealth of documents, photographs and art work collected during the planning and running of the influential 1951 Festival of Britain. The crown coin minted this year was in commemoration of the event, and if you want to learn more about the Festival of Britain you can read this helpful summary here. Commercial cinema chains and independent cinemas also joined in, the Gaumont and Odeon chains programming seasons of British films. It’s all well and good understanding the design of the coin, but it’s important to know why it was actually made in the first place.The organisers of the Festival of Britain wanted to ensure as many people as possible could participate in the celebration of British culture and innovation. A long-time editor with left-leaning, middle-brow views, he was energetic and optimistic, with an eye for what would be popular, and a knack on how to motivate others. This coin was not included in demonetization legislation when decimalization was introduced in 1971. The regular versions have a mintage of just under 2 million, which is definitely on the lower side for a mintage figure.

The South Bank Exhibition included a Design Review that presented "an illustrated record of contemporary achievement in British industry", showing "the high standard of design and craftsmanship that has been reached in a wide range of British products.Commemorative crown issued to commemorate the 1951 Festival of Britain with original green slip case and information leaflet that reads: The first English Silver Crown piece was minted in 1551. The 1951 Festival of Britain crown was not intended for circulation and it was instead released as a collectable item. The first idea for an exhibition in 1951 came from the Royal Society of Arts in 1943, which considered that an international exhibition should be held to commemorate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition.

Following World War Two, Britain was still suffering from the years of austerity before, and the Festival of Britain was a great way to boost the morale of the people. There were other displays elsewhere, each intended to be complete in itself, yet each part of the one single conception. Barbara Jones and Tom Ingram organised "Black Eyes and Lemonade", an exhibition of British popular and traditional art, in association with the Society for Education in Art and the Arts Council. Proof or specimen coin sets were only issued on special occasions, such as coronations and jubilees. In keeping with the principles of the Festival, 38-year-old architect Hugh Casson was appointed Director of Architecture – he then appointed further young architects to design the South Bank buildings and riverside walkway most of which were designed in the International Modernist style, incorporating multiple levels of buildings, elevated walkways and open interiors.

An unusual cigar-shaped aluminium-clad steel tower supported by cables, the Skylon was the "Vertical Feature" that was an abiding symbol of the Festival of Britain. As you can tell, the frosted proof and matte versions are incredibly rare and worth thousands of pounds, however, the chances of coming across one of them are slim to none. He secured the Regatta Restaurant, one of the temporary restaurants on the South Bank, for an experiment in pattern design based on the crystal structure of haemoglobin, insulin, wareite, china clay, mica and other molecules, which were used for the surface patterns of the restaurant furnishings. Pistrucci created this design originally in 1817, although the one above is slightly modified to only show the main element of the design. The architects' design was made possible by the engineer Felix Samuely who, at the time, was a lecturer at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury.

The 1951 Festival of Britain: A Living Legacy (Department of History of Art and Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, 1996). It set up a panel including Michael Balcon, Antony Asquith, John Grierson, Harry Watt and Arthur Elston, which became a committee of sponsorship and distribution. Most of the South Bank buildings were International Modernist in style, little seen in Britain before the war.

Collection of fabrics inspired by crystallography held by the Science Museum, London with souvenir book from the Festival. In the foreground is the Dome of Discovery, designed by architect Ralph Tubbs, which was the largest domed building in the world at the time. Before it even opened, some condemned it as a waste of public money, particularly when so many houses had been destroyed during the war. Lettering and type design featured prominently in the graphic style of the Festival and was overseen by a typography panel including the lettering historian Nicolete Gray.