I got another Penny for my Great Britain Penny type set. This one depicts William IV which was minted between 1831 to 1837. I think it’s a nice looking high grade piece. The dealer’s 2x2 stated XF condition. I soaked it in Acetone last night and a lot of hazy film came-off the surface. I don’t see any significant wear on the coin so I would give it an AU58. Please give me your opinion of the coin. Here is a link to my February 2009 post when I began collecting the Great Britain Penny type set. http://www.cointalk.com/t47690/ The original plan was to collect one of each Great Britain Penny which has been made by machine. Of course, if we don’t limit it to machine made, then we would be collecting pennys back to the denari. (Maybe this type set will evolve to that one day). Keeping it to machine made coins, I still need the 1841 to 1859 Penny which depicts the young Victoria. Thanks for letting me share. Very best regards, collect89@aol.com
If she just had a trace of luster I would go MS-something on her. AU58 is OK, I love the traditional Britannia on the reverse. Good luck with the young Vicky's............Traci
(au63) Hello Traci, Thanks. The coin is nicely covered with luster. There is broken luster 3-4 mm above William's ear.
If you're interested in who the guy was, check out a movie called "Young Victoria" which came out the other day.
Point well made. As probably one of the few non-coin collectors on this forum, I do enjoy the history behind coins. William IV was an interesting person, ruling Great Britain form 1830-37. He was the son of the infamous (at least to us Americans) George III of the American revolution fame. William, however, tried to repair relations between the United States and Great Britain. He was the uncle to the future Queen Victoria. Although he did not have a legitimate heir to the throne, he did have many illegitimate children before marrying his wife, including 10 with his longterm mistress, an Irish actress. :high5: Nice coin from an exciting time in British history. It is a nice piece of history from around the time when Charles Dickens first started writing. guy
Thank you for the information guys. I learn so much here at CT from everyone! It is going to be difficult to match the quality & color of the William IV coin. The more I examine it the more I’m thinking that a TPG would dub it MS. Here is a photo of the George III Penny in my type set. I got the George III only a couple months ago. Its quality and color is way different compared to the new William IV. Please post photos of your Great Britain Penny coins.
I see where you mean. But what about the cheek, and the fields just under the bust ? And on Britannia's leg ? Hard to tell in the pics but it looks like there might be breaks in the luster there as well. Either way, the coin is definitely nicer than XF.
Hate to be pedantic but William IV reigned during this period, he didn't rule. No King or Queen of England/Great Britain has 'ruled' since at least 1688. We fought a Civil War and had a Glorious Revolution to ensure that Parliament, not the Monarch, rules this country...
I have great respect for British culture and its many contributions to the Western World. Although the Dutch were the first modern nation state in Europe to form a republic , the British have been second to no one to fight for freedom against great tyrannies (Spain, Napoleon, Hitler, etc.) That said, my Scottish friends (and my father’s ancestral relatives) might slightly disagree with your statement: I think they would feel that no King has legitimately ruled since the late 1200s. Your following statement would be even more controversial: "We fought a Civil War and had a Glorious Revolution to ensure that Parliament, not the Monarch, rules this country.." This statement would make many gringe. (I have great respect, however, for King William III's Dutch ancestor, William I of Orange.) Otherwise, I think your point is well made and absolutely correct. guy
I don't think its a controversial statement, it is a fact. I know Cromwell and the Williamites have a bad reputation with the Irish because they fought wars there to crush Royalist/Stuart supporters in Ireland, but as far as England and the wider world is concerned, their actions secured freedom from monarchical absolutism and led to the Bill of Rights and the dawn of the concept of individual liberty. In spite of the sectarian nature of much of the political struggles in 17th century England, they instigated the modern concept of freedom, and directly influenced the American Founding fathers in their Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights (which was basically an edited version of the 1689 Bill of Rights) and the US Constitution...
