Great Britain: George III Proof Twopence 1805,...

Description

George III Proof Twopence 1805, P1313, PF66 BN NGC, bronzed restrike, a gorgeous Gem Proof with surfaces the color of a perfect Hershey's milk chocolate bar, long considered the ideal color (after full red) by copper collectors; this piece does not exist with any red color as it was bronzed when it was struck to take on this appearance. Most known examples are not superb, as this one assuredly is. The story behind this coin is intriguing. No contemporary twopence pieces were struck bearing this date, the denomination having been abandoned as too unwieldy to strike with ease after the issue of 1797, which bore the earlier style. Of course, 1806-07 pennies and fractions were made, including a host of proofs. Thus, this is what is often termed a Restrike Pattern, in fact a fantasy piece conceived and struck by William Joseph Taylor, a talented English die-sinker of the 19th century.

Taylor purchased a pile of what was then called metal scraps at the sale of the assets of the former Soho Mint, in 1848; among the scraps were numerous dies and punches used to make dies for an array of coinages struck by Boulton and Watt half a century earlier. Taylor polished up a number of the dies, paired them willy-nilly, and produced all sorts of minor coins of great variety for collectors, some years after he bought the "scrap." Taylor's commercial coin and medal business had by then failed, after he produced a fascinating but small variety of pieces during the 1850s, including the now-famed Port Philip gold issues. When his contract-minting business ended, he turned to producing coins for collectors of the day, working on this enterprise from about 1862 to 1880, which is the period during which the current coin was made. Peck called all his works "bogus productions" but collectors have long embraced them for the beautiful mementoes of a bygone age which they certainly are, and in the past two decades their popularity has increased measurably. Taylor made this coin either by using punches or parts of old Soho Mint dies to construct the coin we see here, or as Peck believes by drastically altering old dies, the portrait being taken from a Bank of England 1804 Dollar, burnishing off the original engraver's initials "C.H.K" from the king's bust and substituting a simple "K" in their place. Britannia was possibly lifted from a proof die of the 1797 twopence, the style then changed during the die-sinking process to reflect the type of 1805-07 penny without the former raised, broad rim as seen on the 1797 coins. Taylor probably had no idea whether or not Soho had ever struck an 1805 twopence. Peck likes to call them "concoctions," but the terminology has little affected collectors' passion to obtain and own them, much as the famous USA 1913 Liberty nickel is adored and dreamed about by countless coin collectors.

Whatever the facts really were surrounding how and when this lovely coin was created, it's still wonderful in execution, in size, and even in its mysterious elements. Its style originated at a time when the former American colonies were making their first large cents, and this must surely be a draw for America's collectors today as they widen their scopes and see what the "mother country" was using for money, and saving as collectibles, while the early states sought unity and true independence. If you want a great 1805 twopence, this is certainly it!

More information about Great Britain Coins. See also: Great Britain World Coin Nationality.

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