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October 27, 2008
Proclamation Coin - Great Britain 1787 Shilling
1787 Proclamation Shilling
In my previous entry about Australian proclamation coins I mentioned the 1787 Shilling of Great Britain which was valued at 1s 1d in the proclamation. Minted from about 6g of sterling silver you can see an example of the 1787 proclamation shilling above. George III minted silver coins only sporadically in the 18th century, and 1787 was the biggest mintage of shillings under his reign until the great re-coinage began in 1816.
The obverse depicts the older laureate bust of George III. The 1787 shilling was minted with three different obverses, the most common with the dot above the head, or less commonly with no dot above the head. The least common variety has no dots on the obverse at all.
The reverse depicts cruciform shields with coats of arms and cruciform crowns. The reverse came in two varieties, with or without the semee of hearts in the Hannoverian coat of arms. These varieties are the two best known varieties of this coin and the fractional proclamation 1787 6d is also available in the same variety.
When looking to purchase one of these coins you should look for a piece with original surfaces. This can be difficult as most 200 year old coins have had some sort of cleaning in their lifetime (the coin above has had an old cleaning on the obverse, the reverse seems to be original). Mid grade coins are quite affordable with higher grade coins coming up quite frequently at auction or on online auction sites. As always try to buy the best coin you can afford rather than compromising on quality. I believe an original toned VF coin has a lot more eye appeal than a dipped blast white EF coin.
Posted by mnemtsas at October 27, 2008 12:05 PM
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