George III Penny, Kings Head Upside Down

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 6,307
SMB New Member United Kingdom 2 Posts	Posted 09/05/2020 04:41 am Hi, I have acquired a George III penny, rather worn but the kings head is upside down when turned over, was this a normal strike or not? Regards SMB Report this Post to the Staff

John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 09/05/2020 04:54 am to CCF. Give it a bit and members will help you. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 09/05/2020 08:07 am It is odd that some countries make their coins so when you turn them over top to bottom, they are upside down. US coins are made so when you do that, They are right side up. Report this Post to the Staff
commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12257 Posts	Posted 09/05/2020 08:30 am Which way are you rotating the coin? Top to bottom or left to right? Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Report this Post to the Staff
SMB New Member United Kingdom 2 Posts	Posted 09/06/2020 03:56 am It is when it is turned left to right, not seen this on later British coins, but I do not have any before George III to reference against Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187702 Posts	Posted 09/07/2020 01:04 am to the Community! Your post was moved to the appropriate forum for the proper attention. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
Princetane Pillar of the Community 4628 Posts	Posted 09/07/2020 01:33 am Pictures would help, we are a VISUAL board. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16809 Posts	Posted 09/07/2020 03:08 am Back in the days of early machine (screw) presses, "coin" orientation (the way modern US coins are aligned) was considered normal. Aligning dies this way was easiest for the mint workers, because both the top die and bottom die are "right way up" when looked at inside the coin press. This diagram might help explain this: The way current British, Australian, Euro and Canadian coins are aligned was called "medal" orientation because that was how you needed to make medals, so that, if mounted as a pendant on a loop, the medal would be "right side up" whichever way it turned. Most of the world eventually shifted to making their coins using medal orientation. Britain changed during the reign of Queen Victoria. Most pre-Victoria British coins are coin-oriented and thus "upside-down" compared to modern British coins. With modern high-speed industrial coinage presses, there is no longer any advantage to using the traditional coin alignment. America is one of the few remaining anachronisms that still use coin orientation for their coins. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
PaddyB Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 945 Posts	Posted 09/07/2020 03:18 am This is what is called "coin alignment" and was the norm on all British coins and many other countries until the late 18th/early 19th century. "Medal alignment" where both sides are the same way up was gradually adopted over the years. For British copper coins the change happened in the middle of George IV's reign - the first issue of farthings up to 1826 are coin aligned, but thereafter all medal aligned. With the silver it is more complex - the first medal aligned shilling is 1787 but different coins changed back and forth on this until 1887. Most gold is coin aligned until 1887 as well. In the "Coins of England" reference by Spink the alignment is identified by two arrows - both up is medal, one up one down is coin alignment. Worth checking as the fakers sometimes get it wrong for a specific coin, and that can be a giveaway. (EG there is an 1818 Halfcrown on the market with coin alignment, but it should be medal!) I hope that helps. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 6,307

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: World Coins and Currency Forums Forum: United Kingdom (Great Britain) Coins

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.3 seconds to rattle this change.