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Description: | A complete, worn and pierced post-Medieval copper-alloy milled imitation half guinea depicting George III (1760-1820), milled during the late 19th Century (c. 1850-c. 1900).Obverse: GEORGIVS·III DEI GRATIA·; George III, wearing a laureate wreath, facing rightReverse: ·T·B·ET·T·A·REX·F·D[ ]AR·S·I·D·[ ]S·ET·E·1791; Crowned spade shaped shield, with date of 1791 below. The shield bears four panels containing detailed rendering of rampant lions, harp and fleur de lys. The originals were nicknamed 'spade' guineas due to the shape of the shield.Diameter: 20.6mm. Weight: 1.47g. DA=12:12.The piece is pierced with a circular hole, 1.0mm in diameter, on the obverse.The Token Corresponding Society (www.tokensociety.org.uk - accessed, 14/10/2014) offers the following information on these imitations: There is an extensive series of over 1,000 different Imitation Spade Guineas, issued not in gold but in brass or bronze. Some are gilt which can make it look like gold and this does cause some confusion. They were mostly struck in the 1800's, during the reign of Queen Victoria, but to avoid the Counterfeit Laws they, usually, have the bust of King George III on the obverse and, usually, the reverse includes the spade shield, - hence the name "spade guinea". To qualify as an Imitation Spade Guinea a coin must have one or both of these aspects.The guineas range between 24-27mm diameter and the half guineas 20-22mm.Many coins are dated in the 1700's and not in the 1800's, to reinforce that they were not real currency guineas. Their purpose was as gaming / gambling counters, to look like sovereigns and half sovereigns, to show off the expertise of the engravers and manufacturers, many of whom were named on the piece - mainly from Birmingham, UK - and as advertising tokens for many types of business, as "give away's" and promotional items.Many were pierced at manufacture for suspension purposes and it is perfectly acceptable to collect coins in that condition. Whilst some pieces - such as many of the types of "In Memory Of The Good Old Days" are extremely common, some of the advertising pieces are excessively rare and command prices of well over £100. Each advertising coin is worthy of research as to it's origin and purpose.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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