I recently bought a lot of 4 love tokens & noticed right away that one of these things was not like the others. Rather than being toned a dark chocolate color, this 1883 Queen Victoria piece was a shiny bronze color. Except, I don't think there are any Commonwealth pieces of that era that were minted on bronze... What do you think the host coin of this "1/2p" really was? It appears to be 21-22mm, and I'm wondering if the obverse provides enough diagnostics to identify it. Because I'm leaning towards: http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/1883victoriashield.html
It's a gilded farthing. It was first carved and then gilded, which is why the gilding is wearing off on the higher points but is still full inside the incuse carved design.
It's my understanding that the obverse of the farthing looked quite different from the sovereign in 1883 (the top / left 2 are farthings, with a different bust of Victoria and the legend "VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F: D:" instead of "VICTORIA DEI GRATIA"). Or is there something I'm missing?
Or, I'm an idiot. I was reading the date as 1883, but that appears to be an 1853 farthing (when the obverse WAS the same as that later used in sovereigns). I wonder if gilded farthings were ever passed off as their higher value relations like the racketeer nickels in the US?
I doubt it, the reverse design was completely different. The Racketeer nickel passed because the denomination was simply "V" for 5, it didn't specify cents or dollars. That is why after that year they added "cents" to the coins.
The design of the Farthing changed in 1860. Numismat is correct. See pictures of Farthings here and you will see the difference in designs when you get down to Victoria. http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/farth.html
The design of the Farthing changed in 1860. Numismat is correct. See pictures of Farthings here and you will see the difference in designs when you get down to Victoria. http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/farth.html
