In British coins my current interests include type sets of British Pennies, Shillings and Florins. Being a person with little self control I often find myself also acquiring nice British pieces outside these main areas. This page has Shillings, Florins, Trade Dollars, a few odd proofs I have acquired, and a few bronze and copper pennies at the end.
Most of my coins are third party graded (slabbed) by either NGC or PCGS. Why, well I buy a lot of my coins long distance and the percentage I have had to return over the years because of being cleaned, or some other type of damage, was getting too high. I do buy coins raw (unslabbed) or from other third party services, but only after looking at them in person and convincing myself they will cross over to either of the two leading TPG's, or from a few sources that I trust based on experience. Yes, these guys make mistakes too, but it's much better than in the bad old days before TPG's got started. There are several dealers on my links page that I have purchased raw from, they have great reputations and have always treated me well.
Shilling Type Set
Edward VI (Ruled 1547-1553) 1551 S-2482 Third Issue EF40. If you are new to collecting hammered coins please keep in mind that these often come poorly struck and with cracked or chipped flans. Edward VI was the first ruler to issue Shillings.
James I (Ruled 1603-1625) 1605-06 S-2654 Third Bust AU50.
Charles I (Ruled 1639-40) S-2799 EF45.
Charles II (1660-1685) 1676 S-3358 Third Bust VF35.
William III (1694-1702) 1697 Shilling MS62.
Anne - 1702 Shilling VF30, 1st bust.
Anne - 1711 Shilling EF40, 4th bust.
George I - 1723 SSC Shilling in NGC 63. I purchased this as a plain ESC1176 because the online images, although very small appeared to be an 1176A. This version has the C over SS in the lower right quadrant, with a large die break just to the right of the 3 in the date as the easiest diagnostic. Often listed as an R5 coin I believe it is not quite that scarce, but still considerably scarcer than the regular version.
A closeup of the reverse. Note that you can see the remnants of the underlying S just to the left of the lower C, and a large die break just to the right of the 3 in the date whic is the easiest diagnostic on a worn specimen.
George II - 1758 Shilling AU55. I know, should have held out for a higher grade but this is a fantastic looking coin, very glossy, I believe it is a mint state coin with just some striking weakness in the hair rather than wear. No signs of wear in the fields at all.
George III - 1787 Shilling (with hearts ESC 1225) AU58. Another with a very nice look, only some cabinet friction in the highest curls of the hair keeping this from a mint state grade.
George III Shilling Token by S&C Young of Sheffield, 1812 in AU58. The years 1811 and 1812 saw a large number of silver tokens issued due to the lack of silver from the Royal Mint since 1787. Although minted in large numbers very few were saved and they are relatively scarce in AU and better grades.
George III - 1816 Shilling MS65, ex Cheshire Collection. The first year of the new coinage shillings with the portrait by the Italian Benedetto Pistrucci.
George III - 1817 Shilling MS65, Another ex Cheshire Collection.
George III - 1817 R/E in GEOR Shilling MS63. Considered extremely rare, this particular piece is currently the only one graded by PGCS and NGC combined. I am currently trying to build a census of the known specimens, if you know the wherabouts of any of these please get in touch.
George III - 1819 Shilling MS66. Very attractive with light toning.
George III - 1819/8 Shilling MS64. A very scarce overdate variety with lovely blue toning.
George III - 1820,raw. Lovely old toning, this being the variety with an unbarred H in HONI on the reverse.
George IV - 1821, raw, a one year type with this unique reverse design.
George IV - 1824 Shilling MS64 Laureate Bust. Rich attractive toning.
George IV - 1825 Shilling MS62 Laureate Bust.
George IV - 1825 Shilling MS62 Bare Bust. A lovely coin with light gray and gold toning. This is the first use of the new portrait by the gifted engraver William Wyon. George was not happy with the first protrait by Pistrucci and had asked for him to copy a bust done by Sir Francis Chantry which Pistrucci refused, and development of the new portrait was given to Wyon.
George IV - 1826 Shilling MS65. Although the toning may be a little dark for some this is one of my favorites, it's hard to imagine a prettier coin for me.
William IV - 1836 Shilling MS64. Flashy luster under medium toning. All the coins of William IV are considerably tougher than the Georges.
Victoria - 1874 Die 17 Shilling MS64, with die number just above the date on reverse. A very nice coin with medium gray and teal toning.
Victoria - 1887 Shilling Jubilee Head MS64, light gray obverse toning with bright gold gold on the reverse.
Victoria - 1889 Shilling Large Jubilee Head MS64.
Victoria - 1896 Shilling Veiled Head MS64. Gray and gold toning.
Edward VII - 1902 Shilling Matte Proof 64. A very interesting finish was used on the proofs of 1902, very tough to find in high grade, this is one of 4 graded PF64 with none higher. I also love the reverse design on both the Shilling and Florin of this reign.
Edward VII - 1907 Shilling MS64. Attractive flashy white coin. As with all Edwardian pieces these are very tough to find in grades above MS62-63.
Miscellaneous British Coins
This really doesn't fit into my collections, but it was so lovely I just had to have it. 1790 Droz Pattern Sixpence, not really rare as these show up on a regular basis, but a little difficult to find with such attractive toning, this one graded PF63.
Bank of England - 1811 1 Shilling 6 pence (18 pence) Token, NGC 66. Due to the extreme scarcity of small silver coins in circulation, none minted since the Shilling and Sixpence issue of 1787, the government finally got into the token business in a semi-official way. Beginning in 1811 tokens were issued with the values of 3 Shillings and 1 1/2 Shillings. This is the first type with the old Armored Bust.
Bank of England - 1813 1 Shilling 6 pence (18 pence) Token, NGC 63. This is the second type with the Laureate Bust.
Victoria - 1887 PF65 Florin Jubilee Head. Strong cameo contrast although not noted on the holder. Mintage of approximately 1084.
Victoria - 1893 PF64 Halfcrown Veiled Head. Very strong cameo contrast, although not noted on the holder, and amazing color which I have not been able to photograph correctly. Approximately 1050 minted.
Edward VII - 1902 Matte PF63 Crown. These have the classic Crown reverse, combined with a matte finish. For some reason I am drawn to this finish, particularly when they have such a smooth gray finish as this one. Mintage of approximately 15,000 for the silver sets.
Bank Of England 5 Shillings (Dollar) , these were issued as a stop gap measure in the early 19th C. in silver, and normally minted over an existing coin. Proofs are available in both silver and bronzed copper, with this example being bronzed. 1804 PCGS PR63.
The British Trade Dollar was minted primarily at Calcutta and Bombay to facilitate trade in the far east, although some years were also minted in London. Note that the reverse text is in both Chinese and Malay. This 1912 B in NGC64 is a little tougher date to find in high grade. This one has lovely light iridescent toning in reddish gold which does not show well in the pics. The mint marks on Trade Dollars are well hidden, being a very small mark in the center prong of the trident.
Florins ( Two Shillings) were a 19th C. British attempt to decimilize, with a value of one tenth of a pound.Values are shown as both on the reverse.
Victoria - 1849 "Godless" Florin MS64. A one year type lacking the legend Dei Gratia on the obverse. None were minted dated 1850, and when minted again in 1851 the legend returned and a Roman numeral date and Gothic script for the text, leading it to be called the Gothic type.
Vicoria - 1852 "Gothic" Florin, MS64.
Victoria - 1887 "Jubilee Head" Florin, MS63.
Victoria - 1893 "Veiled Head" Florin, MS64.
Victoria - 1887 Double Florin (4 Shillings) MS64, this is the version with the Roman 1 in the date, another variety has the Roman 1 in the date. These often come particularly well struck and nearly prooflike.
Victoria - 1887 Double Florin (4 Shillings) MS63, Arabic 1 in the date.
Edward VII - 1902 Florin PF63 Matte.
Edward VII - 1910 Florin MS62. All of th Edwardian pieces are tough to find in mint state and this is another reverse design I really like.
George V - 1931 Florin MS65. A light overall gold tone, quite attractive with very nice luster.
George VI - 1937 Florin MS63.
And a bit of copper to finish the page. I am also putting together a date set of Edward VII Pennies from 1902 -1910 in MS65, and a type set of Pennies by Ruler. The Edward VII set includes 10 pieces including both the 1902 High and Low Sea level. Very tough in 65 as there are only a small handful already graded meaning you also have to examine a lot of raw coins to submit to try to make the grade. This is a 1910 in NGC 65 RB, population 1/0 in Red Brown and 4/0 in all colors.
Penny Type Set
1826 - George IV in mS64 BN. I have chosen this example to show due to the amazing flan cracks it exhibits, it's also really well struck.
1834 - WIlliam IV in MS65BN, currently the highest graded, all William IV copper is scarce.
1854 - Victoria copper in MS64 BN, this example with medium brown glossy surfaces and very well struck.
1855 - Victoria copper, Plain Trident in MS66 RB. The Victorian copper is scarce is high grade. An average strike but with blazing luster which does not show well in the image.
Victoria - 1862 (no die number) in MS65 RB, another very well struck piece.
Victoria - 1891 Penny MS66 RD, the mature bust. All the Victorian pieces are tough to find in 66, or even 65 in full red. This one is really worth 66 RB money due to the slight toning on the reverse. Remember to buy the coin, not the holder. There are only around 20 or so 66's in the entire Victoria Penny series in the NGC population reports.
George V - 1928 Penny, MS 65 RD.
George VI - 1937 Penny, MS 65 RB.
George VI - 1951 Penny, MS 65 RB, without Ind: Imp in obverse legend.
Elizabeth II - 1961 Penny, MS 65 RD.
