This short note details a halfpenny of David II of Scotland’s second coinage (1357/8-1367), potentially the second known example, which has recently come to light. This new specimen is of particular interest as it is struck from a different obverse die than the other example in The Lord Stewartby Collection of Scottish Coins.
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
An Unusual Counterfeit ‘Silver’ Shilling of 1818 – Gary Oddie
This note presents a contemporary counterfeit shilling of George III dated 1818. The alloy is a base silver and is the first such counterfeit to be published. Die duplicates have been found within another comprehensive ongoing study of the counterfeits of this period. The piece appears to be struck from hand-engraved dies and is extremely deceptive. It is very likely that many others were made and have blended in with the circulating silver coins that were finally removed from circulation in the silver culls of the 1960s and 1970s.
A new female coin collector of the 18th century: Katherine Blount (née Butler) – Andrew Burnett
We can now identify a new addition to the relatively small number of female coin collectors of the past. Katherine Blount (née Butler) (1676-1752) had an extensive collection of over a thousand coins, mostly Roman and British, as described in the fairly detailed inventory made of her collection after her death. Picture is more difficult as, despite consulting experts, we have been unable to find the Kneller portrait which is mentioned in the literature. Perhaps we could consider a page from the Inventory?
A New Mintmark for the Henry VIII York Halfpenny – Lee Stone
A Henry VIII halfpenny was recently discovered that has a pansy mintmark.
Seeking the Provenance of an Unusual Hiberno-Scandinavian Coin – Robert Page
Hopefully a reader may be able to assist with the quest to discover where the interesting coin illustrated above came from. The earliest appearance of the coin that the author is aware of is the 2001 Spink auction containing coins of the Chown collection, and it is hoped that any reader with earlier auction catalogues containing Hiberno-Scandinavian coins may be able to locate it, and determine it’s original provenance.
The 1962 Dated Proof Sovereign of Elizabeth II – Cameron Maclean
The purpose of this post is to draw attention to the 1962 dated proof sovereign of Elizabeth II as it is unlisted in the British reference catalogues.
Boulton’s 1799 Halfpennies and Farthings – Ian Calvert
Matthew Boulton’s 1799 and 1780 quick and cheap production and distribution of 42 million halfpennies and 4.2 million farthings effectively resolved a serious longstanding counterfeit problem for those coins. The Peck, KH16 coins provide one example of “Pattern” Early Soho coins which might well have been produced for the nascent “commemorative” coin market.
Two (or Three?) Identically Pierced Coins of Edward the Confessor’s Sovereign/Eagles type- Hugh Pagan
This note argues that a pierced coin in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, of Edward the Confessor’s Sovereign/Eagles type, Oxford, moneyer Beorhtweald, SCBI 2, 1105, with a secure provenance going back to 1783, is, remarkably, a cast taken in the eighteenth century from a coin of the same type, mint and moneyer in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, SCBI 9, 918, of which the recorded provenance only goes back to 1934.
A sixth Cork groat of the readeption of Henry VI – Gregory Edmund, Christoffer Gompakis and Oisín Mac Conamhna
This article describes a new specimen of a Cork groat of Henry VI, found recently in Pembrokeshire, with novel features that advance understanding of the chronology of the Desmond coinages of the 1470s.
A Die Study of James I Shillings – Second Issue, mm Scallop – Gary Oddie
This note continues the die studies of James I shillings, working backwards through the mintmarks of the second issue. Here the mintmark Scallop is presented. On 30th June 1607 there was £75 0s 10d of silver at the trial of the pyx, representing coins struck since the previous trial on 10th July 1606, almost a year previously. With just 46 specimens struck from 37 obverse and 40 reverse dies, and just 1 die pair duplicate this is already suggesting that the sample is very small and the statistics poor. The usual statistical analysis suggests we might expect 148 obverse and 195 reverse dies, though the poor coverage means that this estimate could be out by a factor of two either way!
BNS Research Blog 