Great Britain: Victoria Shilling 1849,...

Description

Victoria Shilling 1849, S3904, MS66 NGC, Young Head, first 3 digits recut, Superb Gem Uncirculated, full bold strike, most pleasing and fully original surfaces having delicate silvery golden gray toning and little flashes of brighter iridescent hues. This coin is quite a rare date in this charming series, although the Spink reference does it no justice in terms of estimated value, but the book means nothing when it comes to a coin of this quality, which is just about the best there is, and seldom encountered. Struck so hard that there are tiny diebreaks on each side -- evidently the force of the dies coming together shattered them. Historically, this coin comes right out of the era of the Crimean War, and also of Charles Dickens, author of the famous novel David Copperfield and a host of others which were avidly followed by English readers of the day. His stories often captured the fading charm of English life, mixed with such hard realities as child labor and of young men going off to faraway lands to fight for queen and country, and the contrasting idyllic life still enjoyed by many in the countryside. The world was simpler then, if still hard for many people, and the English were feverishly devoted to their monarch. Her portrait on this coin, and the coin itself, seem to capture the feel of that long-gone era, so filled with prosperity, with yearning for daring adventure, with simple commerce, with an elegance of living which few today could understand, with a sheer zest for life as an Englishman, and with an inbred trust in one's nation and the culture into which each man or woman was born. Holding a pristine coin such as this, and letting the imagination wander to its past -- this is one of life's finest passions, made possible by pursuing this wonderful hobby of numismatics.
From the Exeter College Collection

Metal: Silver
Diameter: 23.60mm
Weight: 5.6552g
ASW: 0.1682oz
Mintage: 645,000

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

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