Owner Comments:
The 1806 currency issues are more frequently encountered in average uncirculated grades (i.e., MS-63) relative to the 1807 pennies; however, both are common. True gems are difficult to locate and are often fully brown when encountered. Given the common nature of these coins, I would encourage collectors to seek an example that meets or exceeds their standards for at least an MS-64. For those wanting more of a challenge, one could wait several years to find a nice gem reb-brown example. This will be easier for the 1806 relative to the 1807 dated pennies. This coin is classified by Peck (1960) as P-1344 and is listed as
very common.
The pictures are courtesy of NGC's new PhotoVision Plus Service, but they do not accurately depict the color of this coin.
Obverse:George III is depicted facing right adorned by a wreath of 10 leaves, which is tied behind his neck by a riband of two loops and two ends. A brooch of 9 jewels on the right shoulder catches the drapery. The lowest fold of the drapery is “obliquely striated” (i.e., a series of lines titled to the left), which are superimposed by the letter K followed by a dot (i.e., K.). The legend is contained within a thin raised rim and toothed border and reads as follows: GEORGIUS III · D: G · REX. (evenly spaced). The date “1807” appears at the bottom of the coin under the bust. The obverse has retained more of the original red color than the reverse. This boldly-struck example is entirely clean of distracting contact marks.
Reverse: Britannia is depicted facing left wearing a close-fitting drapery sitting on a rock surrounded by waves. Her right arm is extended, and her hand holds an olive-branch with 11 leaves and four berries. Her left arm is down with a trident clasped in her grasp of which the middle prong points just right of the second limb of the 2nd “N” in Britannia. An oval shield that adorns the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew (heraldically colored) is to her left side. To the right of the shield is a banner with the Soho mint mark which reads “SOHO”. To the left of the shield is the letter K. A 3 masted warship appears in the sea in front of her. The sea is not curved like that of the 1799 halfpennies but is instead straight, leaving a clear exergue. The legend
BRITANNIA is contained within a thin outer rim and a toothed border.
Edge: Engrailed
Notes: As I previously mentioned, truly gem examples of the 1807 penny with more than trace amounts of original red color can be difficult to locate. To illustrate this, the NGC census currently lists 53 uncirculated examples of the 1807 Penny. Of those, only 2 have earned the red-brown color designation. This example is currently the single-finest RB example graded at NGC. It is also worth noting that this coin has a provenance to the
The Geoffrey Cope Collection of British Coins auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica in May of 2024. The bidding was intense, so much so that the auctioneer was almost always forced to stop calling bids verbally because he could not keep up with online bids. It was fascinating to watch but infuriating to participate.