Owner Comments:
****This is one of several coins that hold a special place within my larger collection. It resided in the Boulton Family Estate Collection until it was retailed by my late friend Bill McKivor (a well-respected dealer) in the early 2000s. From there, it was sold to my late friend, Cory Collins, who held onto it for over two decades before selling it to me. Along with this coin, Cory generously sold me several other Soho restrikes from the Boulton Family Estate, which are all denoted with both the Boulton and Collins provenances. Although these pieces are beautiful, rare, and well preserved, the joy I experience from owning them is derived from the memories I formed with Cory over the years of our friendship. We made a point to see each other every FUN show and these visits quickly became the highlight of my numismatic calendar. In the intermediary, we would often spend several hours a week chatting on the phone about the minutiae of the Soho Mint that would otherwise be lost to the average collector. I deeply miss my friend, but I am grateful that these coins remind me of all the great memories we shared over the years.****
This variety is one of the more unusual restrikes produced by Taylor. The bulk of the Taylor restrikes are marred with huge patches of die rust, areas devoid of detail due to over polishing, doubled or recut legends, and often rims that were filed by him after striking to remove burs. This variety, as noted by Peck (1970), is largely free of major imperfections or the other relatively minor flaws one would often expect to find on Taylor’s work. We may never know why so much care was given to this production, but collectors today can be thankful for his effort. Peck describes this variety as
very rare.
Obverse: The obverse depicts the large, undraped bust of George III facing right. A laurel wreath consisting of ten leaves and five berries (the two uppermost are slightly smaller than the others), which is tied behind his head by a riband. Although the bow is not depicted, we can observe two loose ends flowing freely down the back of his neck. Two large, curled hair rolls appear above his ear. A large and somewhat poorly defined (as it relates to the innermost area) lock of hair flows from behind his ear before ending in a weakly engraves series of loose curls. The largest of which forms a circle before the weak ends begin to dissipate into the neck. A larger, and equally poorly accented curl appears to the left, which flows down before coming to an end under the shoulder. What appears to be yet another, even more poorly defined series of curls protruding from a large lock of hair appears to the left behind the entirety of his neck. A final curl, which has the appearance of a large lump, can be seen resting on his left shoulder. The truncation is a bit odd relative to adopted design. It starts with a slight curve, within which the engraver’s initials appear “K” followed by the dots in a triangular shape. This curve is slightly interrupted to form a point, from which a less dramatic curve is formed. This curve eventually deviates to form a mostly rounded point before being intercepted by the hair on his left shoulder. The incuse legend
GEORGIUS III · D: G · REX. is contained within the broad raised rim. There are numerous imperfections around the rim. The most notable occur around the first “G” of GEORGIUS. There is also a notable raised line that appears at roughly between four and five o’clock. It is interesting to note that the stops are not blocked up but are also not as deep as normally encountered on the early Soho pieces. An unusual flaw appears attached to the inner rim, between eh last “I” and the “D” of the legend. Otherwise, this coin is notably free of distracting imperfections and has a very pleasing brown patina complemented by muted pastel toning.
Reverse: The reverse design is stunning and very well struck. Not to be promiscuous, but the strike is so bold that Britannia’s nipple has survived the test of time. Britannia is depicted resting on a sphere (presumably a globe) facing left. She wears a plumed helmet on her head. A large curl flows freely beneath the helmet, resting behind her neck and resting on her shoulder. This is superseded by a much smaller, and still freely flowing curl. The strong strike allows viewers to appreciate the intricated details of the helmet. Her right arm is extended to the left, clutching a strongly defined trident. The middle prong of which points to the first “I”. Drapery is wrapped around her left shoulder and flows freely downward covering her right breast. The drapery has fallen down her right arm, which has exposed her left breast. Her right arm is hanging down, resting upon an oval shield with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew (heraldically colored). Her left hand, resting on the shield, grasps a large olive-branch with sixteen leaves (all attached). A notable characteristic of this reverse die is the large triangular shaped fold of drapery that protrudes nearly to the center of the globe. large rock appears to the right of the shield, with sea appearing in the background. A weakly cut “K” appears to the left of the shield, closer to the exergue line. A three-masted warship with a poop deck and a small indistinguishable flag at the bow appear in sea depicted in the background to Britannia’s left. This entire design is cut along a straight edge exergue line, under which appears the date “1797”. The remaining details are include and contained within the broad rim. The legend,
BRITANNIA. appears above. On either side, at three and nine o’clock respectively, a floral design appears. Two olive-branches tied together with a riband with a single bow and two loose ends appear at six o’clock. In incuse letter, the word “
SOHO” appears on the loop. Much like the obverse, the reverse is notably free of distracting imperfections and has a very pleasing brown patina complemented by muted pastel toning.
Edge: Plain
Notes: Although not adopted for the final design, I thoroughly enjoy the reverse design. The helmeted Britannia holding a trident gives the sense of a battle-ready country, which is reinforced by the three-masted warship on the horizon. Taken together, the obverse and reverse embody the simplistic elegance that is quintessential of Matthew Boulton’s Soho Mint. The dies must have been relatively well preserved, as this coin lacks the typical blemishes one would expect from a Taylor restrike. This is particularly apparent when compared with the other restrike proof penny in this set (i.e., the P-1148). Peck (1970) notes that the odd nature of the reverse die, and notes that some pieces were filed after striking to remove imperfections. The current example does not present any evidence of such post-strike “improvements”.