Hello all. Recently, I won an eBay auction for an Edward iii silver Groat. The seller has a 5 star rating with over 22,000 sales. The description the seller gave the coin is as followed: "Edward iii Silver Groat - 2.89grams - Contemporary - (R185)" I am wondering if anyone can tell me if a weight of 2.89 grams for an E3 Groat is possible. From what I've read and catelouged, most groats from this period were 3.5-4.7 grams with most I've seen in the 4+ gram range. The weight given at 2.89 grams seems extremely light. Unfortunately the seller did not give size dimensions or read of the coin. Maybe he mistakened the coin for half Groat? Maybe it's fake? Any info anyone can give me would be much appreciated as I kinda jumped the gun and bought the coin before really thinking about the details. Just want to make sure what I purchased is authentic and classified correctly. Thank you! ~ Attached are photos front and back of the coin.
I have one and it's 4.03g, maybe yours is a half groat. Either way it looks ok. When you get it, weight yourself. I've had many be wrong.
I don't think so. The legends are too complete for that. I would bet on it being an authentic half groat over a clipped groat.
I'm thinking the same as others that it may be a half great. Don't have time to look at my books though, and I have not yet delved into the world of the Edwards...
UPDATE: I messaged the seller with my concerns, and his response was that the coin is in fact the size of a 4Pence from that era. He did notice that it was underweight for the type of coin, but as to why he placed "Contemporary" (not sure how I was suppose to know what that stood for) in the description, as he believes it may be a counterfeit from the era. The coin has yet to arrive but I'm at a crossroad here. I wasn't really in the market for an ancient conterfeit coin...but if it is in fact from that era..I may end up just keeping it..though I'm not sure I'll be able to tell for sure if it is from the era or a modern replication...
Edwardian coins were quite frequently copied on the continent because of the excellent reputation the English coins had. Try researching 'esterlings' - you might find it interesting even if it is not an actual English issue.
Interesting stuff. Do you know if counterfeit coins of that era are of any collectible value? Also, do coin graders like NGC grade ancient forgeries?
They are of value as some of the 'official counterfeits' were used as the currency in some areas (such as Flanders). As for NGC, they can be quite spotty with Medieval coins - some they touch, some they don't. In terms of ancient forgeries, I don't know.
