The Victoria Hope Collection: a 1901 British Empire type set

I assembled this collection from 2001-2013 and have since broken it up, though as of mid-2017, I still have the ex-Terner 1901 half-sovereign. I thought I'd dust off the old pictures and notes and repost them on CoinTalk since the ancient Collectors Universe thread about it got wrecked by successive software changes.

This 1901 type set consisted of coins from the final year of Queen Victoria's reign. It is a snapshot of the coins of the Empire at the dawn of the 20th century, when Britannia still ruled a significant portion of the globe, and it was said, "The sun never set on the British Empire."

Queen Victoria's reign of more than 63 years was the longest in British history and the British Empire was near its peak in 1901. While some colonies did not issue coins that year, many did, and there is a surprising variety in the portraits. In the British homeland, the coins portrayed the veiled "Old Head" or "Widow's Head" of Victoria, while the queen was frozen in time and forever young on the coinage of colonies like India and Ceylon.

I built this set for my daughter, Victoria Hope. Her birth in September of 2001 heralded the beginning of the "New Victorian Era", exactly a century after the old Victorian era ended. We didn't really name her after the British queen- we just liked the name. I chose her middle name, Hope, in honor of my maternal great-grandmother, and it proved to be a timely choice, because ten days after September 11, 2001, the world was in need of a little Hope.

Like the first Victorian Era, hopefully this new New Victorian Era will be a long one, full of prosperity and advancements. When Victoria was little, she showed some interest in "Queen Victoria from the Old Days", as she liked to put it, but that interest did not carry over into her teen years, so I sold the collection and rolled the proceeds into other coins, which I'll keep in my own "Eclectic Box" collection and sell when she needs college textbooks or a wedding dress or something like that.

And now, the set, such as it was. You'll notice I wasn't as picky about pictures in those days, though I did have professional photographer Todd Pollock on Collectors Universe do many of these for me.

 

(I excluded the KM12 Australia 1/2 sovereign. These were struck in Proof only in 1901, and are prohibitively rare.)

AUSTRALIA

01- AUSTRALIA: 1 SOVEREIGN, KM13, (1901-M).

(PCGS AU58)
Size: 22.05 mm. Composition: .917 Gold/.2354 oz. Mintage: 3,012,000 ("S" mintmark)- 3,987,000 ("M" mintmark)- 2,889,000 ("P" mintmark).
Comments: Purchased 3/1/10 from eBay seller "akbeez", who used the same ID on Collector's Universe. The images above are rather washed-out scans.

 

British Guiana (Guyana)

02- BRITISH GUIANA: 4 PENCE, KM26.
(Raw VG; minor nicks and marks)
Size: 19.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0560 oz. Mintage: 60,000.
Comments: From an eBay seller in Mexico. I paid around ten times catalog price at the time, but these are tough to find and likely undervalued.

 

British Honduras (Belize)

03- BRITISH HONDURAS: 25 CENTS, KM9.

(Raw F+; borderline VF)
Size: 27.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.1728 oz. Mintage: 20,000.
Comments: Ex-Dan Lewis ("danglen"), Collectors Universe.

04- BRITISH HONDURAS: 50 CENTS, KM10.

(NGC VF Details; "Scratches")
Size: 35.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.3456 oz. Mintage: 10,000.
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay.

 

Canada

05- CANADA: 1 CENT, KM7.

(PCGS MS64 RB)
Size: 25.5 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 4,100,100.
Comments: Acquired in a trade from Don Rupp ("ajaan"), Collectors Universe, 06/2009.

06- CANADA: 5 CENTS, KM2.

(Raw VF+ to XF; some nicks)
Size: 18.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0346 oz. Mintage: 2,000,000.
Comments: Purchased from member "forvm" on eBay. This was intended to serve as an attractive "filler" until I stepped up to a full UNC, but I never did. It had some pretty toning- which might've been heat-induced, but I didn't care.

07- CANADA: 10 CENTS, KM3.

(ICG MS62)
Size: 21.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0691 oz. Mintage: 1,200,000.
Comments: Purchased at a show on my behalf by my friend Don Rupp ("ajaan" from Collectors Universe), who let me swap him some other coins for it, 11/2009. This is quite a tough little coin in Mint State and this example was truly gorgeous for the grade. I wasn't sure it would cross to PCGS or NGC, though (might have been lightly dipped), so I left it in the ICG holder.

08- CANADA: 25 CENTS, KM5.

(NGC VF30; ex-ICCS VF20)
Size: 28 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.1728 oz. Mintage: 640,000.
Comments: Purchased in an ICCS VF20 holder from eBay, later crossed to NGC.

09- CANADA: 50 CENTS, KM6.

(NGC G6)
Size: 35.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.3456 oz. Mintage: 80,000.
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay. These are tough. I found this one pleasing and wholesome for a low-grade example.

 

Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

10- CEYLON: 1/4 CENT, KM90.

(NGC MS63 BN)
Size: 14.3 mm. Composition: Copper. Mintage: 216,000.
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay from a listing with dark pictures. I was quite amazed when I saw it in hand. The nice colors were a pleasant surprise. This tiny but beautiful coin was stunning, and even the professional photos above do not do it justice. This has to have been one of my best $10 purchases ever.

11- CEYLON: 1/2 CENT, KM91.

(NGC MS63 RB)
Size: 18.5 mm. Composition: Copper. Mintage: 2,020,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from Stephen Album Rare Coins (stevenalbum.com), 04/2010. This was quite a nice little coin in hand, and as I recall, it wasn't cheap, either. Sadly the only images I got of it were the wretched scans of it inside the slab, which you see above.

12- CEYLON: 1 CENT, KM92.

(Raw F+; borderline VF)
Size: 22.5 mm. Composition: Copper. Mintage: 1,014,000.
Comments: This was just a cheap coin I picked up somewhere; probably eBay. I figured it would until I found a nice Mint State example, but I never got around to that.

 

Cyprus

13- CYPRUS: 1/4 PIASTRE, KM1.2.
Size: 21 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 72,000.
Comments: Tough denomination for 1901 Cyprus. I never got one of these.

14- CYPRUS: 3 PIASTRES, KM4.
Size: 18 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0561 oz. Mintage: 300,000.
Comments: Another tough denomination for 1901. I never got one of these, either.

15- CYPRUS: 4-1/2 PIASTRES, KM5.

(NGC XF40)
Size: 19 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0561 oz. Mintage: 300,000.
Grade: NGC XF40 (Cert. #1787397-054).
Comments: Ex- Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. This likely had had a light cleaning long ago, but NGC obviously considered it gradeworthy. For some reason, Victorian coins from Cyprus are often found quite harshly cleaned.

16- CYPRUS: 9 PIASTRES, KM6.

(Raw AU)
Size: 23.7 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.1682 oz. Mintage: 600,000.
Comments: Ex- Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. A somewhat tough coin in better grade. The rather poor images above are scans.

17- CYPRUS: 18 PIASTRES, KM7.

(NGC VG10)
Size: 29.8 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.3364 oz. Mintage: 200,000.
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay. Modest grade, but superior eye appeal- far better looking than a lot of the typical cleaned ones out there.

 

Great Britain (homeland issues)

18- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 FARTHING, KM788.2.

(NGC MS61; mint-blackened finish)
Size: 20 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 8,016,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from Tom C. ("Wybrit"), Collectors Universe, 11/20/09.

19- GREAT BRITAIN: 1/2 PENNY, KM789.

(PCGS MS64 RD)
Size: 25.5 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 11,127,000.
Comments: A gift from longtime friend Don Rupp ("ajaan"), Collectors Universe, 04/2010. I only paid for the grading. These are truly horrid images. In hand, the coin was not bad looking at all.

20- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 PENNY (large bronze type), KM790.

(NGC MS63 RB)
Size: 30.8 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 22,206,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from Don Rupp ("ajaan"), Collectors Universe, 2009. Upgraded a less Red Mint State example. Though these are professional photos above, they did not do the coin justice. In hand it was prooflike, flashy, and absolutely stunning. The NGC slab pictures are, as usual, a pathetic joke.

21- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 PENNY (Silver Maundy type), KM775.

(NGC MS63)
Size: 11.15 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0140 oz. Mintage: 18,000.
Comments: From a slabbed Maundy set I acquired from Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. Previously sold by Richard Abrahams ("greattoning"), eBay.

22- GREAT BRITAIN: 2 PENCE, KM776.
(NGC MS65)
Size: 13.44 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0280 oz. Mintage: 14,000.
Comments: From a slabbed Maundy set I acquired from Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. Previously sold by Richard Abrahams ("greattoning"), eBay.

23- GREAT BRITAIN: 3 PENCE, KM777.

(NGC MS65)
Size: 16.26 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0420 oz. Mintage: 6,100,000 (circulation strikes)- 8,976 (Maundy issue).
Comments: From a slabbed Maundy set I acquired from Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. Previously sold by Richard Abrahams ("greattoning"), eBay.

24- GREAT BRITAIN: 4 PENCE, KM778.

(NGC MS63)
Size: 17.63 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0561 oz. Mintage: 12,000.
Comments: From a slabbed Maundy set I acquired from Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. Previously sold by Richard Abrahams ("greattoning"), eBay.

25- GREAT BRITAIN: 6 PENCE, KM779.

(PCGS MS64 OGH - old green holder - cert. # 2302317)
Size: 19.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.0895 oz. Mintage: 5,109,000.
Comments: Puchased from Tom Carroll ("Wybrit"), Collectors Universe, 11/20/09, replacing a really nice AU+ I'd bought from him years before.

26- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 SHILLING, KM780.

(NGC MS64)
Size: 23.5 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.1682 oz. Mintage: 3,426,000.
Comments: Received raw as a generous gift for Victoria from Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe.

27- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 FLORIN (2 shillings), KM781.

(NGC MS64; ex-NGC MS65)
Size: 28.3 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/0.3364 oz. Mintage: 2,649,000.
Comments: Ex-Brett Smith ("BS"), Collectors Universe. Purchased raw; it had previously been in an NGC MS65 holder but was cracked out of the slab prior to my buying it. I only know this because the old slab insert was included when I got it. I resubmitted in 2011 and it only got MS64. Regardless of technical grade, it was a truly beautiful coin with lovely pastel toning. Never, ever, EVER pay NGC $3/coin for those "Internet Imaged" pictures they offer! Click the slab link above to see why. They must use a scanner. MY scanner produced better images than that! Fortunately I had the professional photos above.

28- GREAT BRITAIN: 1/2 CROWN, KM782.

(NGC MS63)
Size: 32.3 mm. Composition: .925 Silver/.4204 oz. Mintage: 1,577,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from dealer Jeffrey Zarit, through eBay.

29- GREAT BRITAIN: 1/2 SOVEREIGN, KM784.

(PCGS MS64, with Terner pedigree on label)
Size: 19.30 mm. Composition: .917 Gold/.1177 oz. Mintage: 2,037,999.
Comments: Ex-Dimitri Gotzamanis ("SYRACUSIAN"), Collectors Universe. This coin remained with me after the sale of this collection and became a part of my later "Eclectic Box" collection. I still have it in that collection as of June, 2017, meaning I've owned this coin for more than a decade, which is a long time in the cycles of my collecting. With my ever-evolving collection, that doesn't happen very often. Only my metal detecting finds have been immune from being sold or swapped. But some pieces like this one are "longer-term holds" for me.

30- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 SOVEREIGN, KM785.
Size: 22.05 mm. Composition: .917 Gold/.2355 oz. Mintage: 1,579,000.
Comments: Though I did have the Australian full sovereign and the British half-sovereign above, I never got around to acquiring a British full sovereign for this collection. All of this was done on a fairly tight budget.

 

Hong Kong

31- HONG KONG: 1 CENT, KM4.3, (1901 "plain").

(NGC MS63 RB)
Size: 27.6 mm. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 5,000,000 (without mintmark)- 10,000,000 ("H" mintmark).
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay. This is the lower-mintage variety without mintmark.

32- HONG KONG: 5 CENTS, KM5.

(NGC MS64)
Size: 15.53 mm. Composition: .8000 Silver/.0349 oz. Mintage: 10,000,000.
Comments: Acquired in a trade with Hayden Tubbs ("HTubbs"), Collectors Universe. He let us trade up from a toned NGC MS63 example to this blast white beauty. In hand, this coin had blazing luster not fully seen in these photos shot through the slab.

33- HONG KONG: 10 CENTS, KM6.3

(NGC MS63)
Size: 17.84 mm. Composition: .800 Silver/.0698 oz. Mintage: 25,000,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from an eBay seller with the ID "999_omen".

 

(British) India

34- INDIA (BRITISH): 1/12 ANNA, KM483, (1901-C).


(NGC MS62 BN)
Size: 17.5 mm. Composition: Copper. Mintage: 21,345,000.
Comments: I purchased this in the slab on eBay, sold to a Collectors Universe member, and bought back when I found it harder to replace than anticipated.

35- INDIA (BRITISH), 1/2 PICE, KM484.
Size: (? - unlisted in Krause). Composition: Copper. Mintage: 16,057,000.
Comments: I never found a 1901 example of this type for sale, which is surprising, considering the mintage.

36- INDIA (BRITISH), 1/4 ANNA, KM486, (1901-C).
(No picture)
(NGC UNC Details/Altered Color; Cert.# 4080257-014).
Size: 25 mm. Composition: Copper. Mintage: 136,091,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from Vikram Deshmukh ("koincollect"), Collectors Universe, August 2009. It was a nice full Red UNC coin, but NGC didn't like the color. I thought the color was rather muted, and orange, but I've seen that look on British India coins before, including slabbed ones. As I recall, I returned this piece, and Mr. Deshmukh, a collector from India, made everything good.

37- INDIA (BRITISH): 2 ANNAS, KM488, (1901-C).

(NGC MS65)
Size: 15 mm. Composition: .917 Silver/.0430 oz. Mintage: 8,944,000 (Calcutta)- 1,706,000 (Bombay).
Comments: Purchased raw from VCoins seller Frits A. Bodde of Moneta Nova (Germany). The only images I have are the NGC slab pictures above, and they're pretty bad, as usual.

38- INDIA (BRITISH): 1/4 RUPEE, KM490.
Size: 16 mm. Composition: .917 Silver/.0861 oz. Mintage: 4,476,000.
Comments: I never found a 1901 of this type for sale, either. I don't know why some of the smaller-denomination 1901 British India coins were so difficult to find, despite reasonably high mintages and modest catalog values.

39- INDIA (BRITISH): 1 RUPEE, KM492, (1901-B).
(no picture)
Size: 30 mm. Composition: .917 Silver/.3437 oz. Mintage: 72,017,000 (Calcutta)- 130,258,000 (Bombay).
Comments: I had one of these, but NGC "details" graded it; for cleaning if I remember correctly. It was a nice AU to UNC coin despite that, and I had gotten it for a very nice price. If I remember correctly, it ended up with Collectors Universe member "bronzemat" (@Mat here on CoinTalk).

 

Straits Settlements (Malaysia)

40- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: 1/4 CENT, KM14.

(NGC MS62 BN)
Size: 21.5 mm approx. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 2,000,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from Tony Fein through VCoins, 11/22/09.

41- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: 1 CENT, KM16.

(NGC AU details; "rev planchet flaw")
Size: 28 mm approx. Composition: Bronze. Mintage: 15,230,000.
Comments: Purchased raw from eBay seller "rdzcoins", summer 2009.
This had a small planchet flaw (lamination?) on the reverse, but nice detail and color. NGC didn't like the flaw, and I don't fault them for "details" grading the coin, but I rather thought that was interesting as a minor "error". It was also a very inexpensive purchase, so I couldn't complain.

42- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: 5 CENTS, KM10.
(no picture)
(PCGS AU53; cert.# 18349590)
Size: 18.5 mm approx. Composition: .8000 Silver/.0350 oz. Mintage: 3,000,000.
Comments: Purchased sometime after 2009. I can't currently remember from whom. I seem to recall it being a nice little coin, though since the pictures are gone, I'm a bit foggy on this one.

43- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: 10 CENTS, KM11.

(NGC AU58)
Size: 17 mm. Composition: .800 Silver/.0697 oz. Mintage: 2,700,000.
Comments: Purchased from an excellent eBay seller called "rdzcoins" in the summer of 2009. He gave me some nice additional freebies, as I recall.

44- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS : 20 CENTS, KM12.

(NGC AU58)
Size: 23 mm. Composition: .800 Silver/.1397 oz. Mintage: 600,000.
Comments: Purchased raw on eBay.

45- STRAITS SETTLEMENTS: 50 CENTS, KM13.
Size: 31 mm approx. Composition: .800 Silver/.3492 oz. Mintage:120,000.
Comments: I never acquired a 1901 example of this type. They are quite popular, and as are usually quite expensive. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), they are also a very popular target of the Chinese counterfeiters.

 

Thanks.

I didn't have to sell it, but since Victoria wasn't that interested in it, I used it to start much of the new "Eclectic Box" collection.

Really just this. All the coins you see here bought that one US coin. Crazy, huh.

 

Whew!

It took me all morning to transfer those from the shipwreck of the old CU thread. All that work for a bunch of coins I sold years ago!

But I'm glad I did it. As one of my longer-term collecting projects, these deserved to be archived.

Thanks for looking.

 

From the introduction in the OP:

That was true when I originally typed that, but is no longer, since the current long reign of Elizabeth II has now surpassed that of Victoria (and George III, who also ruled for 60 years).