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2023 Best Presented Set

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George III, New Coinage, 1816-1820, Sixpence (M.T.)

By M.T.

This set is part of my attempt to collect New Silver Coinage of George III. The 1787 sixpence is included merely to achieve full completion of this NGC Registry set. I have challenged myself to find these relatively common coins in a most uncommon grades. It took me over twenty five years to arrive at this point... The year 1816 marked one of the most important moments in the history of British coinage – The Great Recoinage. The Great Recoinage was designed to relieve the chronic shortage of change that had plagued the country for many decades. The silver coins were slightly reduced in weight and size to discourage the melting down or export of coins during periods of high silver prices. For Georgian Britain, it was a change as big as decimalization for you or me. The George III Bull Head Sixpence was introduced as part of an attempt to re-stabilize the currency following economic difficulties caused by both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and marks one of the most important moments in British numismatic history. The machinery used to steam-mill the coins was provided by Matthew Boulton, of Birmingham, and was installed at the Royal Mint's new premises on Tower Hill, near the Mint's old premises within the Tower of London. These coins were a considerable qualitative improvement over the screw-milled issues of previous years. This sixpence type was struck between 1816 and 1820 and features the bust of George III, by then subject to the regency of his son the Prince of Wales. Its design is the same as the shilling coin issued at the same time; they only differ by their size and weight (the sixpence is exactly half the weight of the shilling). Composition: 0.925 silver (0.0841 oz ASW) Design: Benedetto Pistrucci Obverse Laureate head of King George III facing right; around, GEOR : III D : G : BRITT : REX F : D :; below, the date. Obverse Inscription GEOR : III D : G : BRITT : REX F : D : [year] Reverse Crowned and garnished shield bearing royal Arms within the Garter with motto HONI SOIT Q MAL Y PENSE. "Honi soit qui mal y pense" is an Anglo-Norman maxim which means "Shame on whosoever would think badly of it," or "May he be shamed who thinks badly of it". Its literal translation from Old French is "Shame be to him who thinks evil of it." Some of known varieties include: 1819 small 8 (the significantly smaller 8, the small 8 would seem to be the figure punch used on the larger maundy coins) 1819 9 over 8 (9 over remnants of 8, result of a reworked die) 1819 T over B (this variety was originally discovered and accredited by CGS and then officially accredited by Bull ESC 1636B, extremely rare, unique) 1820 inverted “1” in date 1820 “I” over “S” in reverse legend 1820 no colons in obverse legends Mintage: 1816 (inc 1817) approx.. 10,921,680 1818 approx. 4,284,720 1819 approx. 4,712,400 (incl. varieties) 1820 approx. 1,448,960 (incl. varieties) Some notes on 1787 Sixpence Dated 1787, they are only sixpence coins issued during the first twenty seven years of George III reign from 1760 to 1816. The silver coinage of 1787 was ordered, not by the Government for general circulation, but by the Bank of England for distribution at Christmas to its favoured customers. As the price of the silver required was consistently above the Mint price of 5/2d an ounce, the coins were struck at a loss, which the Bank accepted. £55,280 worth of silver at the mint price was turned into 746,480 shillings and 712,380 sixpences at a loss of more than £1,100. Each coin was struck carefully to the highest standards achievable with the manually powered presses of the time. The design (made by Luis Pingo) is quite pleasing, with a nice renaissance-style bust of the king on the obverse, and four shields in cruciform on the reverse, each shield containing elements of the British royal arms. A variation is the 4th shield which may or may not have a semee of hearts. Semee usually means decorated with dots, in this case it means decorated with small hearts. Obverse: Laurate, draped and cuirassed bust of King George III right. Legend: GEORGIVS.III.DEI.GRATIA. The Latin legends translate "George III by the Grace of God" Reverse: Four crowned shields with the arms of England and Scotland, France, Hanover, Ireland in the form of a cross, crowns in between and a Garter Star in the centre. Date 1787 below. Legend: M B F ET H REX F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E The abbreviated Latin legend if shown in full reads "Magnae Britanniae Franciae ET Hiberniae Rex Fidei Defensor Brun ET Lunebergen-sis Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi-Thesaurius ET Elector" and translates as "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Luneberg, High Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire." Read more...

George III, New Coinage, 1816-1820, Sixpence (M.T.)

By M.T.

Owner Comments:

Gallery

NGC Expert Comments:

A short set, it includes the reform (reduced-size) silver six pence of George III, issued from 1816 through the end of his reign in 1820. Just five years, this set is expanded by an 1819/8 overdate and major varieties. Coins like the ones in this set don’t come along every day, and M.T. has been on a journey of a quarter-century in his collecting, enough time for him to locate some outstanding examples. Fortunately, each is pictured here. M.T. provides a pithy introduction as well as commentary on each coin, allowing his expertise to shine through. It’s a great model for how to engage with a coinage series and showcase a collection.

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