I don't have a photo, but I imagine it's a pretty common coin. it is copper and about an inch and a quarter in dia. one side says "ONE PENNY" and the date (1945) and has a seated figure holdind a trident. The other side has the profile of a mans head and the words "GEORGIVS VI D:G: OMN: REX F:IND:IMR
It is a British penny. The seated figure is Britannia. The legend is abbreviated Latin, but it starts out plain enough: Georgius vi, George 6th. He was the father of the reigning queen Elizabeth and the grandfather of Prince Charles. D G = Dei Gratia = by God's Grace OMN REX - (Omnia Rex = king of all; "omnipotent" (all-powerful) would be a stretch.) The motto used to read BRIT OMN REX or BR OMN REX, meaning "King of All Britain" very Arthurian -- and important up to the end of the Civil War of 1688.) F = Fides (or Faith in Latin) D = Defender So, FD is Defender of the Faith. IND IMP = India's Emperor, a title given first to Victoria, and last to George 6, after India's independence. (By the way, how about that parser, eh? It changed D-colon into the Smiley D: !) (Speaking of Defender of the Faith, there is a famous cartoon that shows the king being denied entrance past the Pearly Gates. "Yes," says Saint Peter, "but you defended the wrong faith.")
Thanks!! Wow, you really covered everything! Can't figure out how I did the : parser thing. I know there are several web sites for US coin price guides, are there any for foreign coins?
The answer is, "No." The best suggestion is to start with the American Numismatic Association website at www.money.org and goto the Dealer Directory. There, you can find dealers who specialize in foreign coins and click on those that have websites. There, you will find prices that can help you determine values. Other than that, if you need a full range of prices for foreign coins because you are an active collector, then you should by the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins. One option for that is to visit used bookstores, especially in large cities and college towns. Library sales (FOLA = Friends of the Library Association; they run the sales) are a great place to find books in general and I have found old SCWC catalogs there for $1 or $2. The advantage to the older catalogs is that they give information for more years, from the 1600s to 1980 or so. Most generally collectible and interesting coins are in that range, anyway. If you find a coin from 1945, you can identify it with older book as well as you can from a brand new one.
There may be, but not `one' specific site covering everything `foreign' (bear in mind that to a very large portion of the world, the US is `foreign'......) For example, this is the best site for information on UK coinage. I mention it in particular due to its immediate relevance to your `one penny' coin. http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/coins.html Hope that helps. Ian
What Civil War in 1688? Actually coins in 1688 used to read MAG.BR.FRA.ET.HIB.REX BRIT OMN REX only came into being on the coins with Edward VII in 1902. and was dropped after 1953.
