Dear Fellow Numismatists,
I am writing to ask for information about a perplexing coin in my collection. It is a shilling, weighing 4.25 grams and measuring 25mm in diameter. Here is the reverse:
In the shields on the compass points, it bears the Fleur-de-Lys to the east, the Irish harp to the south, the three English lions and rampant Scottish lion to the north and the Hanover crest to the west, each with a crown above them meeting the edge of the coin. The Latin legend around it states the King's titles; much is unfortunately worn, but some areas are still legible, such as ‘REX FD’ in the southeast corner and ‘AT ET E’ in the northwest corner. From what I understand about George II shillings from the 1740s (information from Emma Howard, Coins of England & the United Kingdom: Pre-Decimal Issues (London: Spinks, 2022), p.440), there were two reverse designs, one with roses in the diagonal corners, minted in 1743, 1745 and 1747, and one without the roses, minted in 1745 and 1746 as the famous LIMA coins (this legend is on the obverse, so is not present on this coin for confirmation). There are no traces of the roses in any diagonal corner, especially not in the better-preserved corners, so I would say this design may be based on the 1746/6 one. Shillings were next minted in 1750 without the roses, but the date is most likely from the '40s (see below).
The date is most likely 1740s - the ‘17’ is very clear to the left of the northern crown, and the decade number to its right is slightly worn, but I would say it is most likely a ‘4’. The specific year is completely worn away.
Now I come to the truly perplexing part of this coin: the obverse. From the titles, crests and date, it should show George II. Instead, it shows William III:
He faces the opposite way to George II, and George III (who faces right like William) has a slightly different legend, with his ‘III’ to the left of his head and the full ‘DEI GRATIA’ inscription. This coin, however, reads, albeit worn, only ‘GVILELMVS’ on the left.
To the right is only 'III' DEI GRA', the abbreviated version rather than the full legend as appears on George III's obverse. The first ‘I’ is very difficult to see due to a pierced hole there, but the rest of the legend is visible.
The explanation for such a wrong obverse, of a King who died forty years before the coin's date and belonged to an entirely different ruling dynasty to that described in the reverse legend, has stumped me and anyone with whom I have spoken about this. I am quite certain that this is most likely a contemporary counterfeit coin due to its weight and diameter - I believe it is most likely a silver-plated farthing imitating a shilling, as the weight and diameter are very similar to a farthing from George II. One gentleman suggested that, since forging the king's coinage was a capital offence, some forgers would deliberately strike a coin wrong (in this case, the completely wrong bust) to avoid the gallows, but since the aim of counterfeiting coins was to pass them off as genuine coins, it seems strange that the forger would go to such an extreme. I have scoured the Internet and cannot find anything like it - all the counterfeit coins from the 18th century (including some examples on this website) have the correct obverse and reverse, so my example remains a mystery.
As such, I am left with many questions and I am struggling for answers! I was wondering if you may be able to shed some light on this strange little coin, and in particular help me to understand why the wrong obverse was used on this coin? Thank you very much!
Yours sincerely
Numismania76
