GB Silver

I thought I'd give you all a chance to discuss and show your prized GB silver coins. Mine is:




Mintage of 932.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I wish. that's a beauty. I only have a few coppers

 

Thanks. And this is also one I had been hunting for a while.

 

I like some silver, although when I originally started collecting British I only went for copper and bronze. I decided a few years later that there were some really interesting silver pieces.

1707 E (Edinburgh) Sixpence.



1723 SSC Shilling, French Arms at date. A fairly rare piece, this is the only one graded to date, most found are in g-vg range.



What I really love is the Geo. III period, some really interesting patterns and tokens came out in that period.

1787 Pattern Sixpence, ESC 1640



1787 Proof Shilling



1790 Pattern Sixpence



1811 Proof 3 Shilling Token, this type was also used for the 18 pence tokens.



Man, I could really get carried away with George III, since a wide assortment of things to collect.

 

That's some very nice stuff you've got there. Yes the George III coins had some interesting designs. They tried it with the guineas and sovereigns but were more adventurous with their silver coins. Here is something I picked up recently, Queen Anne Crown with plumes and roses:

 

Wow, 1934 Wreath Crown, that's a beautiful Anne crown! My one Anne crown is not in such great shape, and since it was minted in 1703, it does not belong in this thread. Here's my SSC crown, instead.

 

I've always wanted an SSC but am waiting for a nice one at a good price, if there is such a thing. Seeing your crown has tempted me to start looking for one seriously again.

 

Post your Queen Anne anyway for us to enjoy. Thanks.

 

1703 English Crown, VIGO privy mark. Most likely not struck from Spanish silver since almost all silver had been offloaded before the attack on Vigo Bay. Nonetheless, it was a triumph for the English and their Dutch allies -- several ships with other precious commodities were seized.

 

ssc on the reverse shows the silver was supplied by the south sea company--I remember many happy hours !!!!! at school learning about the south sea bubble

 

Hate to say it, but the OP coin looks fake to me. Closeup shows evidence of casting and the "wear" on the high points of obverse not natural IMO. The hair detail is also wrong. That coin looks to be slabbed as well!

 

As I am new to this forum, I will try to enclose a picture of a clearly good specimen:
file:///Users/ericdawson1/Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/Thumbnails/2016/05/15/20160515-175539/Y%25ENp1JMTnWMOsGcsyz5cw/thumb_IMG_0512_1024.jpg

file:///Users/ericdawson1/Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/Thumbnails/2016/05/15/20160515-175539/RRu30A51TP2NpbzcmQRUhQ/thumb_IMG_0515_1024.jpg

 

I have seen that sort of wear to be inline with having lived in a drawer for a long period. I'm interested in having a look at your coin to help understand what you think is wrong. Unfortunately you appear to have referenced pictures on your harddrive.

 

Yes, haven't figured out how to post. The closeup of the surface of OPs coin is other than wear and has many casting marks, surface roughness in micro.

 

The wreath crown looks OK to me, that rather ugly toning is absolutely typical of the 50% silver composition of British silver of the period. I cannot see any problems of the type 7jags has suggested. I cannot see a fake taking on exactly the appearance you'd expect from an EF-AU example.

 

Please look at the pictures magnified up and you should see exactly what I am saying. I obviously do not have the coin in hand, but there are other "damning" attributes such as the G5 hair detail, and the handiwork around the ears - just not right.
I know the series perhaps fairly well, as I have collected late milled British for over 25 years and well familiar with patterns, OMS, VIP Record proofs (incidentally these are misattributed by the American TPGs quite frequently, or at least with respect to their appearance). This would not be typical wear, and a highly unusual appearance for true 1934s as I look at virtually all specimens coming to market on major dealer listings and auctions; it does have the look of some of the spurious bits.

 

BTW, try floating this up on the Predecimal site if you want some more opinions...

 

Well obviously you don't have the coin in hand. Its been examined, graded and then examined by the auction house which has its own experts looking at every item (not just coins) minutely and to you its a fake......enough said.

BTW how many in the series do you actually own? I do .....several.

 

I literally write the book. I have all coins in the series, the matte proof of 1927 and special issues of that date that were held by the Pretoria Mint. I also have all in proof. My suggestion to you is that you run this coin by Steve Hill of Baldwin and consider posting pictures of it on Predecimal forum.
True I do not have the coin in hand, but it appears to have some very bad characteristics in terms of being a legitimate coin, and I would be concerned regardless of the auction house.

 

PS - BTW, if the experts at the auction house look at every item, then they may well not be experts. Not only that, even at leading NUMISMATIC auction houses, there is certainly an incidence of them being "caught out" and definitively wrong. And there are quite a few fake 1934s out there. So don't take my word for it - even though I have been a collector for 25 years - I have suggested two alternatives, and can come up with more.