Post Your United Kingdom (Great Britain) Coin Acquisitions.

Excellent lot!

Nice group. The 1½d was issued between 1834 and 1862 (Just 12 dates in total, none scarce and 1862 was the last year) and was meant for colonial use in Ceylon and Malta, places used to small silver and copper coins (All the fractional farthings were used there too).

The last 4 years of William IV and the first 6 years of Victoria saw coins issued every year, but this became sporadic after 1843 and further coins only issued in 1860 and 1862, when the coin was curtailed (A small silver coinage was issued in Ceylon from 1877 onwards - the 10 cent coins are microscopically small like these).

Your coin is well worn being in VG - Fine condition judging by the crown and rim wear, this is quite low for this type - meaning it saw sustained use for several years.

Inevitably some of these coins ended up in other places too. Its a nice coin and a cute collectors piece.

The two later £5 coins are nice too, yet they do show some wear and thus have lost any premium as a collectible, yet they are still worth £5 technically. Even more amusing is that they were struck on the old crown planchet which was a 25p coin up to 1990 with the 1972, 77, 80 and 81 crown coins. (Royal silver wedding, Jubilee, Queen mother 80 and Diana wedding - all you can't give away)

These coins would have also originally been in year sets or a separate card package and sold at the mint above face value. The wear and marks on both pieces suggests they were removed years ago and both show a standard "Uncirculated" finish.

Totally agree.



Have to agree with this too and I have never seen one either.
Nice find David. :)

Don't worry David, I know how much you love the big crown coins! Despite my remarks both are still at least AU! I only have one £5 coin, the 2012 Diamond Jubilee coin in a card. I won it for $10 at some stamp auction in 2013.

PaddyB - great history lesson there, out of interest I just brought a debut modern groat. Will discuss that tale when I show the coin a bit latter and why they were referred to as Joeys, nothing to do with baby roos either Stevo and Davo!

And you know there was also a threehapenny coin also briefly in the time of Elizabeth I (1561 - 1580s) along with a threefarthings - such coins came about from merchants grumbling over people paying pennies for a farthings worth of fish or apples etc (Like their version of some clown paying for $1.50 worth of stuff with a $20 note)

More exciting is a new coin that pushes my shilling and British coins back further into the 1500s, before Lizzie and the heart shaped ruffs, we are talking the jewelled Berets and shoulder padded waistcoats and codpiece era!

Just want to pay for them too - I know I said I was cutting back, but a Christmas bonus and gift have fallen into my lap.

I have a serious coin buying addiction, I just can not function unless I am spending money on coins all the time!

Just acquired. Couldn't resist.

Lovely lustre Otto.

Now two coins and a history lesson

I have an 1836 2 pack of coins, both are near VF and my best William IV, a reign notorious for worn coins.




1836 shilling, historically cleaned VF and tone returning. This is a very nice coin, the sellers photos always downplay luster (Last weeks 1868 shilling nearly burnt my retinas) and not much wear. Yes 1836 is the common year, but what a coin. It may even be a smidge over VF and shows deep lustre in parts.

Part of the reason perhaps W4 coins are so worn here, is NZ was very much a frontier in the 1830s and 1840s and the design of wreathed crowns on the 3d, 6d, and 1/- was incredibly similar to the Victoria Young Head coins of similar vintage (The crown changes on post 1887 stuff)



And an 1836 Groat (4 pence) in near VF condition. This coin came about as Hansom cabs in London and other cities often charged fare stages in 4d increments and many people often had to pay 6d coins and huffy cabbies refused to give change.

A MP called Joseph Hume passed an act and a new coin to get around this was issued. It was the perfect time, the 1830s was the rise of post medievalism (Pugin, gothic revival) - we often associate this stuff with Queen Victoria, but like most Victorian schemes and technology - it started in the liberal days of William IV.

Why do I mention this, the groat started back in 1279 to copy the French gros (Also a large silver coin) in amongst all the pennies and their fractions. It failed but was revived around 1350 and remained the dominant silver coin until the 1550s when Edward VI introduced the larger silver denominations and these took over although 4d coins were issued well into the time of Charles II and even into George III.

In 1836 when the Groat was reissued, inflation and technology had rendered it to a tiny silver coin weighing 1.9 grams (If it had been hammered, it would have still been 35 grains and quite large, not much smaller than the groats of Edward IV (1470s). It's size was also indistinguishable from the 3d and thus Britannia rather than another crowned number was added to the obverse. It was good to see Britannia on a silver coin, first time since 240 AD!

Like the tiny 1½d, these coins got regular issue through the rest of the 1830s and into early Victorian times until around 1860 when they stopped (Did the cabbies raise their prices?), although an 1888 groat was issued, it was for British Guiana. Anyway a great coin and one to complement my very worn 1843 Groat.

Nice example, Princetane

Great adds and some fascinating history behind them!

Very nice!