George III Bank of England Emergency Dollar, 1804-1817

Description

Denomination: 5 shillings later revalued to 5s 6d. silver dollar

Period: Hanoverian

Date: 1804

Origin: Soho mint . Birmingham

Condition: Almost VF. some damage to reverse edge

Obverse: Laureate and draped bust of king. right. legend around

Reverse: Britannia seated left. holding olive branch in right hand and spear in left. shield to left; beehive to left and cornucopia to right all surrounded by a garter surmounted by a castellated crown

Size and Weight: 40mm. 26.65g

References: S3768

Features and Provenance: During George III’s reign. the unresolved disputes of the French Revolution lead to the Napoleonic Wars. this resulted in dwindling supplies of silver and the Bank of England issued emergency re-struck coinage using captured Spanish 8 Reales coins as they were very similar in weight to the 5 shillings or crown. The Soho mint in Birmingham had the job of this re-strike from 1804 to 1811. but all had the date 1804. They were withdrawn from circulation in 1817. Interestingly. the original Reale designs and lettering can sometimes be seen as a ghost from the past. our example has various areas where this happens. especially left of the crown on the reverse that could be a DEI from e.g. ‘CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA’ and an ‘M’ on the obverse from ‘F.M.’ This characteristic is sought after by collectors.

Condition Summary. This varies with the age of coin and there are grades in between

Uncirculated (U). As struck with no traces of wear

Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of legend etc present. visible and clear

Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of legend etc present. but maybe worn

Fine (F). Wear on the coin and parts of legend etc may be missing or not visible