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.****
It is highly unusual for me to ever part with a coin with such an important provenance, but I sold an example of this exact variety (in the same grade) to my close friend many years ago. I was very surprised to see that this example is an identical twin to the piece I sold. The color is the exact same between the two examples. It is clear from looking at them that these pieces were produced at the same time and stored in the exact conditions together for nearly a century before being sold in the early 2000s. The only discernible difference is that my example has a small planchet flaw on the obverse rim at roughly three o’clock. One of the things that I found most notable about both examples is the stark contrast between the obverse and reverse. The reverse is colorful and flashy while the obverse is more muted. Without consulting Peck, my assumption was that this difference was the result of a thicker application of the bronzing powder to the obverse relative to the reverse. In fact, the reverse is more analogous to a copper proof than a bronzed proof. I also noticed that the fine details of the reverse are far more apparent than those of the obverse, which made me wonder if the reverse die was better preserved than the obverse. This would help explain the heavier application of the bronzing powder as it often obscured blemishes. After consulting Peck (1970), I realized that my assumption was at least partially correct. As it turns out, the obverse was struck from a repurposed rusty currency die while the reverse was struck from a proof die. This certainly explains the disparity in detail between the two sides of the coin. The Peck rates this variety as
very scarce.
Obverse: The obverse depicts the draped effigy of King George III facing right. Within his hair is a laurel wreath, consisting of ten leaves (no berries), which is tied behind his head by a riband. Both loops and loose ends of the riband are visible. It is interesting to note that several leaves are overlapped by tick pieces of hair, but this this only occurs on the upper leaves (i.e., those closer to the back of his head). An indistinct fold of hair obscures the upper portion of his ear. As always, a large lump of curly hair forms his sideburns. The King’s drapery is secured by a brooch of nine compacted gems. The ermine borders are weakly struck with the detail degrading further from the brooch. The truncation is faintly striated, which is superseded by “K.” fixed in the middle. Evidence of fine rust pots are apparent throughout the entirety of the obverse devices. The legend
GEORGIUS III • D : G • REX. appears wrapped around the inner beaded border. The date
1807 is centered below the bust. There are multiple areas of rust on either side of the date and around the letter “S” in the legend. There also appears to be multiple detached strike thru errors at “E” of REX. A small die break appears attached to two beads between the “1” and “8” of the date, which gives the appearance of two cherries attached by a stem. Multiple tooling marks van be spotted around the date. The most notable of which occurs in extending through the upper loop of the “8”. There is also minor die deterioration doubling throughout the date. This is no doubt a byproduct of reusing a currency die that had been improperly stored.
Reverse: The reverse depicts Britannia facing left and presumably resting on a rock, although the design makes it appear that she is sitting on a shield. A small tiara appears in her hair, which is neatly contained within a bun. A long strand of curly hair rests behind her neck before terminating on her left shoulder. She is wearing form fitting drapery secured by a circular brooch on her left shoulder. Her right arm is extended holding a well-defined laurel branch consisting of eleven leaves and three berries in her hand. The uppermost leaf is detached from the stem. It is interesting to note the muscular tone of her outstretched arm, with a distinguished bicep. Her left arm is held downwards with a trident clasped in her hand. The middle prong of the trident bisects 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. The letter
K appears between the end of the spear and the left side of the shield. A rock protrudes from behind the shield. Just below this rock appears a “banner” with the word
SOHO in raised letters. A small patch of sea is in the horizon behind Britannia. The foreground is devoid of any discernable blades of grass; however, a single wave appears just above the exergue line. A larger patch of sea is depicted in the background to the left of Britannia. On the horizon appears a three masted warship with no discernable gunports. A union flag is present above the poop deck, and pennants are visible from the masts, but no other flags are present. The entire reverse device is not curved like that of the 1799 halfpennies but is instead straight, leaving a clear exergue. The legend,
BRITANNIA is tightly curved around the beaded inner border above the allegorical figure of Britannia. The entire reverse design is contained with a raised outer rim.
Edge: Plain
Notes: I find it odd that Taylor would pair a currency obverse die with a proof reverse die without a complete overhaul in attempt to better match the quality of the two sides of the coin. In several instances, the Soho Mint engaged in such practices, but it is clear from the finished product that a great effort was exerted to create something more analogous to the quality typically expected of their proof coins. Beyond applying a thick layer of bronzing powder, it does not appear that Taylor exerted any overt effort to better match the obverse and reverse. It is interesting to note that the letter “R” is notably more stylized on the obverse relative to the reverse. One of the more interesting historical tidbits about this reverse die is that it was used in the 1830s to strike a medal commemorating Victoria’s visit to the Soho Mint. To this end, the die was likely much better preserved than those stored since the 1806 coinage was struck. You can find examples of this medal in my set detailing the medals struck at the Soho Mint.