Do original crown gear clothes still drop?

I have a question here from Luke Fireblade:

I know you have a lot of questions to answer so ill make mine quick. I am a level 50 pyromancer and I've been looking for the original crown gear....
is there anyway to get it???? i know that for each level before grandmaster they give out other new crown gear pieces is there anyway to get that again?????
You rock!!!!! and maybe one day we can meet on wizard101!
thanks so much for tacking the time to read this email! Happy New Year!!!

Well, I want you to know that I went above and beyond for you Luke. Well, ok, the people at Kingsisle went above and beyond for you. Sometimes you get lucky and today is your day. They double checked the guts of the game for all those who really want to know if original crown gear drops anymore (that is definitely not something that they would commonly do). AND THE ANSWER IS . . . no.

Sorry. :/ Here's your official quote from Kingsisle, "The retired Crowns gear is just that: retired. It is not available as a drop from any creature in the Spiral, and while you may see a few Wizards with those older items, they are no longer available to be won or purchased."

So, anyone who says that it does still drop in the game is mistaken. They don't drop anymore. period. The *new* crown gear however *DOES* drop in the game. I know that for a fact as I have had the crown shoes with tower shield (warded footwear) drop for me before.

Speaking of old crown gear . . . doooood . . . I'm so stoked to have my wife's characters hit level 35. They are all just one or two levels away from getting the uber awesome old crown gear that you speak of. I pulled all that old stuff off of my old characters and put it in the shared bank for her. GO WIFE! Her balance character is going to rock the hydra from the original crown clothes gear . . . can't wait!

Best of luck and thanks for the question!

Happy Dueling!