Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Coinsandmedals, post: 5258526, member: 107435&quot;]England- 1698 William III 1/2 pence</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1219581[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This series is notorious for poor craftmanship (note the oblong shape). I have provided a short description of this coin from my <a href="https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=27871" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=27871" rel="nofollow">custom registry set</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 1698 ½ Penny and Farthings are the most difficult to find in almost all conditions. This is no doubt because production only lasted the first three months of 1698. The rampant corner-cutting on behalf of the contractors finally caught up to them. The quality of the coinage they produced was so low that an official inspection was conducted, although the resulting report failed to find fault. Nonetheless, the contractors failed to properly distribute their coinage, and larger cities such a London were overrun. The copper coinage shortage in those large areas was solved, but the smaller towns and cities remained devoid of any notable supply of regal copper. Unfortunately for them, the people calling the shots resided in London, and by their account, the copper shortage was &quot;fake news&quot;. Despite their protests, the contractors were instructed to halt production. The short production time translated to much smaller output, and this, paired with the extensive circulation of these pieces, makes it a difficult task to find another worthy example of the 1698 dated pieces. <i>Peck lists this coin as very rare, but this does not fully capture its scarcity in the current market place</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Obverse:</b> The cuirassed bust of William III facing right appears on the obverse. His hair is adorned with a wreath of 8 leaves and no berries. The uppermost leaves are barely visible and run off the edge of the coin. The wreath is tied behind the neck by a knot with two loose ends protruding out and down. Neither of which are obstructed by the hair. Several rows of curly hair protrude from under the wreath just above his brow, and this line of curls extends down his neck, only interrupted by his ear. The first part of the legend &quot;GVLIELMVS ·&quot; occurs to the left of the bust, while the second part, &quot;TERTIVS&quot; is right. The toothed border can only be observed lower left side of the obverse.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Reverse:</b> The reverse portrays Britannia seated on a globe facing left, wearing loose-fitting drapery. A thin strand of hair or ribbon flows from behind her head down towards her shoulder. This example is unevenly struck, made evident by her nondescript head and spear (this weakness is also evident in the obverse&#039;s corresponding design). Her right hand is extended and held up, clasping an olive branch of 8(?) crudely formed leaves and no berries. Her left arm rests by her side with her hand clasping a spear that points between her head and &quot;I&quot;. Under her left arm is a shield that bears the combined crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Her right leg crosses her left.</p><p>The entire primary device rests upon a straight cut single line exergue. The reverse legend reads &quot;BRITANNIA · 1698&quot; and is divided into three parts by the primary device. The first part, &quot;BRITAN&quot; occurs to the left of her outstretched right arm. The second part, &quot;N&quot; appears between the olive branch and her face, while the third part, &quot;IA · 1698 ·&quot; appears to the right of the spear. Like the obverse, the only portion of the toothed border appears at the legend&#039;s bottom left-hand side.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Edge:</b> plain</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Notes:</b> Once again, the people with the power to fix a societal level issue turned a blind eye, and the common folk paid the price. Had the official inspection investigated the allegations brought forth, perhaps 1698 would have marked the turning point for increased quality. Perhaps the coiners wouldn&#039;t have had to cut their production short in 1698 if they took the time to properly distribute their coinage and make even the slightest effort to fix the issue they contracted to mitigate. This chapter in English numismatics is open and closed, and for better or worse, the 1698 coinage is only scarce because the contractors couldn&#039;t be bothered to care. Collectors today can choose to appreciate that history as they begrudgingly hunt for the ever-elusive problem-free 1698 coinage.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in