Burns Collection

George was born in 1762, the first son of the long-reigning monarch George III. In contrast to his frugal and straight-edge father, Prince George led a life of drunken dissipation and profligacy, burning through generous allowances in a manner befitting Mike Tyson. He hosted extravaganzas at his Charlton House abode, wasted vast sums on stables of horses, and associated with the dandy Beau Brummell. In true princely fashion, he scattered his seed throughout the empire, fathering numerous illegitimate children through many mistresses.

George became Prince Regent in 1811 when his father became mentally unfit to govern. When he acceded to the throne in 1820 at age 57, he was a corpulent opium addict. He spent most of his reign as a shut-in at Windsor Castle, gorging on gargantuan feasts and summoning his waning energy to oppose Catholic emancipation.

King George IV at last passed away in 1830 from a constellation of ailments that he came by honestly: gout, dropsy, and atherosclerosis. By the time of his death, he had ballooned to a full twenty stone and resembled an overstuffed sausage. Those closest to him remember George as a contemptible, cowardly, selfish, unfeeling dog.

The first issue of George IV coins features the magnificent engraving of Benedetto Pistrucci. The crown is particular beautiful, and wholly Pistrucci's craft: the reverse is the iconic St. George and the dragon, while the obverse depicts the bloated bust of the monarch. This unflattering (yet perfectly rendered) portrait infuriated the king, who sent Pistrucci packing and ordered William Wyon to create a new, slimmer design resembling Rodney Dangerfield.