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.
Counterfeits
A Contemporary Forgery of a Henry V Groat – Josh Cattermole
An interesting contemporary forgery of a Henry V groat, with an examination of its material composition.
A Contemporary Counterfeit Irish Base Shilling of Elizabeth I, c.1559 – Gary Oddie
This note takes a close look at a counterfeit shilling found in a hoard possibly from Co. Tipperary in Ireland sometime around 1966. The hoard comprised exclusively the base coins (white money) that were circulating in Ireland prior to the introduction of a “fine” (11oz) silver coinage in 1561. These factors leave only a very narrow window for the manufacture of the counterfeit and the deposition of the hoard. A further piece, originally suspected to be another contemporary counterfeit, is shown to be a worn genuine coin.
WARNING – Deceptive Medieval Counterfeit Silver – Henry IV Half Groat – Gary Oddie and Dave Greenhalgh
A few weeks ago GO was asked for an opinion on a few medieval hammered silver coins. One piece was a Henry IV light coinage half groat from 1412. From DG’s book Obv. 1. Rev. 4. A unique coin in the British Museum.This note presents XRF analysis of the piece along with eight genuine half groats of the same period. The metal is silver, but trace elements always present in genuine medieval hammered silver (typically Gold ranging 0.3-0.5% and Bismuth 0.01-0.05%) were completely absent from the piece in question.This prompted a much closer inspection that revealed features of the surface that are “not quite right” and eventually traces of where a countermark R had been erased.The piece has been traced to a group of modern replicas, being sold quite openly and correctly as such with the identifying R countermark. However when the replica is damaged, scratched, has its edge filed, the R erased, and is artificially toned, it becomes a
A Machine-Made Contemporary Counterfeit of a Scottish Charles I Turner, Made in London – Gary Oddie
This note presents a contemporary counterfeit of a Scottish twopence (turner) of Charles I. It was found on the Thames foreshore and as it has not been cut from its original copper strip, it is unlikely to have circulated due to the sharp corners. It was probably made in London using a roller press. A “large mass” of similar scissel and uncut strips of counterfeit Royal Patent farthings was found during an excavation in the well in Scarborough Castle in 1907. Though widely dispersed, several pieces from this group are also presented for comparison. In both cases, it would appear that the contemporary counterfeiters were keeping up with the latest technology being used to make the official coins and tokens.
Contemporary Counterfeit Shillings of James I, 1603-1625, Circulating to 1696-7 – Gary Oddie
This note takes a small detour from the die studies being carried out for the shillings of the various issues and mint marks of James I and looks at contemporary counterfeits of the shillings of this reign. The pieces turn out to be somewhat rarer than those of the following reign (Charles I) with images of just 30 pieces being found. This includes the 12 pieces accumulated in the Baldwins forgery cabinet accumulated over the past 140 years. A contemporary counterfeiter’s die is also presented, with images thanks to the Royal Mint Museum, along with the rediscovery of a likely later striking in lead sold in the R. Carlyon-Britton and H.M. Lingford collections in 1949 and 1951 respectively. As the James I shillings would circulate through the civil war and up to the recoinage of 1696-7, there were plenty of opportunities for counterfeiting, especially as the official hammered coinage deteriorated. A simple correlation between weight (wear) and diameter (clipping) is
Unrecorded White Metal 18th Century Tokens – Part 4 – Gary Oddie
The previous three notes published on the BNS blog highlighted several series of non-contemporary white-metal late 18th century tokens. Essentially all were found to be cast or struck copies, made using moulds or dies created from genuine tokens. At the 2022 Token Congress five further specimens were brought for analysis by Jeff Rock and Merfyn Williams. These are presented here and fit nicely into the groups presented previously, reconfirming there was a small number of prolific counterfeiters of white metal 18th century tokens, mostly in the early 20th century.
A Contemporary Counterfeit of an Edward the Confessor Pyramids Penny of Wulfgar of London – Gary Oddie
The coin described here is an unusual class XVb (head facing left) pyramids type penny of Edward the Confessor. The metal appears base, and XRF analysis confirms just 28% silver. The piece is likely a contemporary counterfeit and has a provenance from L.A. Lawrence by private treaty in 1902-3 and then the Lord Grantley sale of 1944. Lawrence had seen a second example, which has not yet been traced.
The Heworth 1812 Hoard: A Cold Case Reconsidered – Hugh Pagan
A fresh look at the Heworth hoard of 1812, a hoard of early nineteenth century forgeries purporting to be coins of the seventh century Northumbrian king Ecgfrith (670-685).
A Counterfeit 1928 Australian Shilling – Gary Oddie
This note will describe a very successful counterfeiting operation that took place in Australia in the early 1930s. The counterfeit shillings, dated 1928, were of such high quality that they could be deposited directly into banks, from where they made it into circulation. The quantities involved were so large that the banks noticed the accumulation in their vaults and an investigation began. The counterfeits were being manufactured in China from good silver and imported to Australia by a Sydney businessman, where they were exchanged for notes. The silver bullion prices at the time meant there would be a profit, not counting production and shipping costs, of about 9½d per shilling. Following the trial, three Chinese men and their families were asked to leave Australia and not to return.
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