The Isle of Man has its own circulating coinage, which is used in parallel with the British Pound Sterling; it also issues an extensive range of Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) coins for collectors, as well as bullion coins in a variety of formats and designs.

The coin format most popular with collectors is the Crown, which has the same specifications as the British (decimal) Crown - also issued as a collector coin, and historically is derived from the British pre-decimal Crown, which was a circulating denomination.

After decimalisation, a Crown coin was nominally denominated as 25 pence, an old Crown being equal to five shillings, and a shilling re-denominated as five pence. The UK Crown and its derivatives - such as the Manx Crown - was later re-denominated as £5 in 1990. The Manx Crown displays the denomination as "One Crown" though and not as 5 pound and is - also unlike the UK Crown - subdivided into fractional denominations.

This first Crown coin issued by the Isle of Man  it features the Manx cat as one of the symbols of the island nation and its unique culture. Manx cats are the subject of the reverse of four special commemorative crown coins. The first two, issued in 1970 and 1975, are stand-alone releases in both copper-nickel and silver proofs, while the third, in 1988, inaugurated an ongoing series of annual cat coin issues that have also been produced in gold in various sizes; an almost-hidden Manx cat appears in the background on each of the 1989-onward releases featuring other breeds.

The Manx cat - a breed of domestic cat (Felis catus) originating on the Isle of Man, best known as being entirely tailless; this is the most distinguishing characteristic of the breed, along with elongated hind legs and a rounded head. 

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary 1926 – 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 

6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history.

OBVERSE: The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary, Her Majesty's grandmother, in 1947.

Lettering: ISLE OF MAN ELIZABETH II 1976

Engraver: Arnold Machin

REVERSE: Manx Cat, value and date, There is no mint mark.

Lettering: ISLE OF MAN ONE CROWN 1970

Engraver: Christopher Ironside

EDGE: Reeded

Designer : Arnold Machin (1911–1999), was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer.

Designer : Christopher Ironside awarded OBE, FRBS (1913–1992), was British painter and coin designer.

Mint : Royal Mint, Llantrisant, United Kingdom wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury

Mintage in 1970 150 000 

Country                          Isle of Man 

Lady of Mann                 Queen Elizabeth II 1952-2022

Type                          Standard circulation coin

Year                          1970

Value                             1 Crown 

Currency                      Pound (1839-1971)

Composition              Copper-nickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel)

Weight                        28.3 g

Diameter                      38.61 mm

Thickness                      3.17 mm

Shape                        Round

Orientation                Medal alignment ↑↑

Demonetized            Yes

References                  KM# 18, Schön# 18