Coins of Queen Victoria’s reign are highly in-demand amongst collectors of British Coins. Queen Victoria’s reign began in 1837, after her uncle William IV died. Her reign saw the Golden Age of the British Empire, as well as numerous technological innovations brought by the industrial revolution.
Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, at Kensington Palace, London. She became queen at 18 in 1837 and ruled for 63 years. Her reign was the second-longest in British History, giving coin collectors many dates and denominations from which to choose from. Some coin types were short-lived such as the Double-Florin, and some dates are rather peculiar such as the one seen on the Godless Florin.
Victoria married Prince Albert on the 10, February of 1840 and the two had 9 children together. Prince Alfred passed away in 1861 which left the Queen devastated. With his loss she entered a deep state of mourning wearing black and a veil for the rest of her life.
British coinage would later reflect the Queen's state of mourning. With both the Jubilee Head and Old Head portraits featuring the Queen wearing a veil.
Victorian coins went through 3 different periods, the Young Head Coinage, The Jubilee Coinage and the Old Head coinage. Her reign saw the introduction of the Florin (1/10th of a pound or 0.1 pounds) and the Double Florin. Although they would discontinue the Double Florin after only two years.
Victorian Coins for Sale
If you wish to buy Victorian coins, we have available below coins from all three periods of her coinage. Including some Queen Victoria rare coins.
Even after 67 years in coins we are still proud to say that we learn something new every day. Recently, a dealer was offering us a rather nice lot of high grade of 1887 Jubilee Head Half Sovereigns. We have sold a large number of the later dates of Jubilee Half Sovereigns of late, we were helping a friend distribute a parcel that he found on the Continent. These coins are the first year of issue and in a much nicer grade than they normally come in. But then he told me that the 1887 Half Sovereign is a one-year type coin. It seems that the Mint in 1887 used silver to mix with the gold and the colour of the gold coin is slightly different than all the other years. We didn’t know that. You learn something new every day…
These Gold Half Sovereigns of Queen Victoria were only struck between 1887-1892. The design was made for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. They are stuck in 22ct Gold and weigh just under 4 grams. The coins on offer are dated 1890 which makes them 132 years old and they are in Very Fine condition. You have Queen Victoria with The Jubilee crown on the obverse, the reverse has a crowned shield, and the date 1890. Each coin is supplied in a protective display capsule.
These Gold Half Sovereigns of Queen Victoria were only struck between 1887-1892. The design was made for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. They are struck in 22ct Gold and weigh just under 4 grams. The coins on offer are dated 1891 which makes over 130 years old and they are in Very Fine condition. You have Queen Victoria with her Jubilee crown on the obverse and the reverse has a crowned shield. Each coin is supplied in a protective display capsule. Only 30 pieces are available at this price.
These Gold Half Sovereigns of Queen Victoria were only struck between 1887-1892. The design was made for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. They are stuck in 22ct Gold and weigh just under 4 grams. The coins on offer are dated 1892 which makes them over 130 years old and they are in Very Fine condition. You have Queen Victoria with The Jubilee crown on the obverse, the reverse has a crowned shield, and the date 1892. Each coin is supplied in a protective display capsule.
There were 3 major types of Queen Victoria Half Sovereigns issued, Young Head, Jubilee Head and Old Head. The Half Sovereign is much scarcer than the full Sovereign. Both are struck in 22ct by the Royal Mint. It is just that the Half Sovereign was the least expensive Gold coin struck at the time. You have the veiled or Old Head portrait of H. M. Queen Victoria on one side and St. George and the dragon on the other side. These are actual gold coins that were used in day today transactions. The coins on offer are in Fine condition and were minted between 1893-1901. These are important type coins and of course the Half Sovereign is a scarce denomination. Dates will be of our choice, but supplies are limited.
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1838 Victoria Young Head Coinage
The Young Head portrait is the first depiction of Queen Victoria on coins. It was created by the Royal Mint's chief engraver at the time, William Wyon. They introduced it in 1838 and used the portrait until 1895 on bronze coins.
1887 Victoria Jubilee Coinage
In 1887, they changed the design of the silver and gold coins for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. But they only placed the design on the Maundy coinage in 1881. The Jubilee head coinage featured a depiction of Queen Victoria by Joseph Edgar Boehm. In this design the Queen is wearing her small diamond crown, a design choice that was very controversial at the time.
Many numismatists have expressed their dislike for this choice. Including our founder, Richard Lobel, who said that "the small crown placed on the back of the queen's head made her look a bit foolish" in our in our Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins
An important coinage change that occurred during this period was the introduction of the Double Florin.
1893 Victoria Old Head Coinage
The Old Head coinage or Veiled Head coinage featured Queen Victoria wearing a diadem partially hidden by a widow’s veil. The coins of this type were struck between 1893 and 1901, and the portrait on the obverse was designed by Thomas Brock.
New Denominations Introduced in Victorian Coinage
Florin - Gothic & Godless
They made 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 place ‘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. Collectors also know the 1849 Florin 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.
In 1851, they changed the design of the Florin to the Gothic portrait. This new design featured a crowned portrait of the Queen facing left on the obverse, and four crowned coats of arms on the reverse.
What's strange about this coin is its date. At the time a large part of the population was illiterate, but yet, instead of using the numbers we know today as Arabic numerals, they used Roman numerals. This meant that a large part of the populace could not even read the date on the coin. As 1872 became (MDCCC) Ixxii.
Double Florin – the Barmaid’s ruin
They first issued the Double Florin in 1887 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and they last issued it in 1890. It gained the nickname "Barmaid's ruin" during its short-lived existence.
The nickname happened because barmaids often made mistakes when giving change. They would give change for a 5 shilling coin instead of change for a 4 shilling coin. This helped to get them to stop making this short-lived denomination.
This coin is the equivalent to a 20p piece in Victorian spending money (Four Sterling Silver Shillings).
