Edward II, Penny (Long Cross) London/Canterbury Fine

During the reign of King Charles I (1625–1649) the copper farthings - introduced by his father, James I – continued to be produced. There were two types called the “Richmond” and “Maltravers”- named after Frances Stewart, Dowager Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, and Lord Maltravers – who were awarded a patent by the King to produce the farthings. Due to the high number of forgeries, in 1636 Lord Maltravers was asked to introduce a new style of farthing which came to be called the Rose Farthing—it was much smaller and thicker than the “Maltravers”, but the revolutionary development was the copper coin had a small “plug” of brass inserted in the centre. This made the Rose Farthing an early example of a Bimetallic coin and also almost impossible to counterfeit, and the production of forgeries soon ended. The obverse shows two sceptres through a crown, and the legend CAROLVS DG MAG BRIT—Charles, by the grace of God, of Great Britain—while the reverse shows a double rose and the inscription FRAN ET HIB REX - France and Ireland King. These are being offered in Very Fine and would make a super addition to your farthing collection!

Forget 1971 Britain’s first attempt at a decimal coin was under Queen Victoria in 1849. It worked but they screwed up as well. They issued the first Florin in 1849 which was exactly 1/10th of a pound or 0.1 pounds. That denomination still exists today we call it a 10 Pence Piece. But there were some problems. They forgot to have ‘Dei Gratia’ – by the grace of God on the coin. So they quickly had to withdraw the coin and issued the Gothic Florin until two years later in 1851. The 1849 Florin is known as the ‘Godless’ Florin for that reason. It is only a one-year type coin and very important as our first decimal coin in over a thousand years. The coins on offer have seen considerable wear and are in Very Good condition. It has taken us two years to put this small group together, but we know they won't last that long in stock...

The reign of King William IV was very short 1830-1837. The largest silver coin struck for circulation was the Halfcrown or two shillings and sixpence. No crowns were struck for circulation and the crowns in the Proof Set sell for up to £40,000 each. The Halfcrown was only struck for circulation in 1834, 1835, 1836, and 1837. We have obtained a small group of this important type of coin in Very Good condition. Remember they are almost 200 years old. Dates will be of our choice and the price is just £85 each. The largest silver coin issued for circulation for this monarch.