Some Examples of British Coin Forgeries

Introduction

Over the years I have obtained a number of forged British coins. Forgers copy coins for usually only two reasons: 1. To fool the contemporary public with coins representing circulating coins and, 2. To fool modern day collectors with the hope they will pass the forgeries off as collectable coins, usually these are only of rarer types.

Of the coins I have, none of them remain convincing and would not fool many modern collectors. Most of them are also copies of relatively common coins and this leads me to believe they were made at the time to fool the public.

Some of the coins I have are incredibly crude and others are little mini works of art worthy of the Royal mint, only made of cheaper metals. I have split this section up in an attempt to reduce page downloading times and on the following pages I will present pictures of these forgeries and perhaps offer a little information about their metal types, designs and quality.

Early Milled

I have only 3 early milled forged coins, all from the reign of William III and all of pretty good quality, although considerably worn.

The first is a William III Crown dated 1696. It appears to be made of copper which probably would have originally been silver plated. The weight is not bad and compares well with the real thing, although the coin is slightly smaller in diameter. It appears heavily worn and I suppose it's quite likely that it never would have been struck with the definition of the real thing.

The second is a William III Half Crown, worn even more than the Crown. It's also dated 1696 and is probably copper. Again, slightly smaller than the real thing but with a realistic weight.

The third is a Shilling. The date is not distinguishable (16??) although most of the other legend is. The size and weight are spot on but the coin is a brassy colour. It has no mint letter so is a copy of a London mint coin. When silver plated this coin would have been indistinguishable without scratching away the silver layer. Even in its present state I am impressed with its quality and craftsmanship.

British Coin Forgeries - Part 2

George III Forgeries

It is generally well documented that forgery was very big business during the reign of George III (1760 - 1820). With shortages of small change and of most silver denominations there was a massive demand for coins, and the forgers just filled this void. Arguably, the forgers probably made it possible for smaller transactions to take place and provided a well needed service, although at the expense of the treasury!

It is thought that during certain times of the reign a very high proportion of the coins in your pocket were probably not genuine. Around 40% of the forged coins I have collected are from this period and I nearly have a full type set (one coin for each denomination) of George III forged coins. Below I have illustrated some of them:

The first is not a British coin and is in fact a large Six Shilling Irish bank token. I have included it here because it is fine example of a forgery and at that time the whole of Ireland was part of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

I've never seen the genuine article but believe at 41mm in diameter it's a little smaller than the real thing. It is weighty and if it wasn't for the darker, black metal showing through the worn parts it would have been a very convincing fake! It's dated 1804 as that was in fact the only date with which the real ones were struck. I could speculate that because of the quality of this piece that it was made in recent years to fool collectors, but with the amount of worn away 'silver' plating on the coin I believe it is most likely a contemporary example aimed at fooling the rich people of early 19th Century Ireland (It's highly unlikely poorer people would ever have seen it as 6 shillings was a lot or money!).

As a point of interest where the silvering is completely intact you can clearly see that when the copy was made it would of started life with a worn appearance.

Another bank token, although it would have circulated as a normal coin at the time. A Three shilling denomination dated 1812 from the Bank of England. The real thing would have been silver and it is quite evident from the image that this coin is somewhat brassy. Although weakly struck the quality is not bad, as is the weight and size. I have two of these and this is the best one, the other is dated 1815 and quite crude in comparison.

I have a number of George III Half crowns indicating it was probably a popular coin for forgers. This is one of the better ones with much original thin silvering. It's a fraction of a millimeter smaller in diameter and thickness than the real thing but the quality, especially of the bust is superb. This one is dated 1820.

I have several of these George III fake shillings and a few sixpences of similar quality. This is the best shilling example with most of the original silvering remaining. It's very convincing now and would have probably been undetectable without scratching the silvering of in 1819! In comparison with a real one it would seem this coin was either struck in inferior metal with the original (stolen) Royal mint dies or copied by a very very talented engraver. The artistic aspects of this coin are parallel with the original and there are no differences whatsoever with the quality and positioning of the design elements. Well done that forger!

British Coin Forgeries - Part 3

George III Forgeries Part 2

A very good copy of a Third Guinea dated 1797. The genuine article would have been 22ct Gold, this example clearly is not. Size and quality are a good match. I don't have a real one for comparison but it's clear that this one doesn't weigh as much as a gold genuine example would. I have 2 fake Third Guineas, the other is dated 1803 and is the later type with the date directly below the crown.

This coin was probably struck by hand as it is irregularly shaped and very thin. All of the gold colour has worn away to reveal a small silver coloured coin (I would speculate that it probably is real silver). The coin is quite worn and a little wavy. The Obverse may have been double struck because on closer examination the bust appears to be shadowed. The date is unclear but the original was only made in 1762.

I'm not 100% sure if this attempt was made to deceive the public or if it was for use as some kind of keepsake or possibly gaming token. It is significantly smaller than the genuine article and although the relief is high and defined, the die engraver does seem to have got a little confused with dating this coin. The die image has to be engraved in the negative so the coin it imprints is in the positive and as a result of this not being fully understood (or just a bad day!) this coin is in fact dated 7771, not 1777! The coin is made of a fairly light brass like metal.

Perhaps of all the counterfeit George III coins the 1770 -75 type Half Penny was the most widely forged. I have over the years encountered many of these forgeries, some good, some bad, some worth more than the real thing! This example is dated 1773 and is not a bad copy, with the crude date and wonky 'V' of 'GEORGIVS' giving it away. Forgery was so prolific in the 1770's that the forgers had prepared the 1776 Half Pennies in 1775. These 1776 coins were released into the public before the forgers found out that the Royal mint had actually stopped producing these coins in 1775, so all the 1776 dated Half Pennies (and there are quite a few) are all guaranteed forged examples!

British Coin Forgeries - Part 4

Victorian and Edwardian Forgeries

There seems to have been a move away from the forgers choice of brass/copper and silver type metals up to the 1830's. All of the Silver and gold coin forgeries I have from the Victorian era and later seem to be made of a metal that resembles lead in appearance but is lighter like steel. Although it cannot be steel because there is no sign of any rust or corrosion on my examples. I have a few broken fakes too and the metal inside has a Crystalline appearance. **Thanks to someone who wrote to me, informing me that this metal is a zinc alloy with a low melting point, and is also used for making die cast toy cars** Please email me if you have any other information.

Never mind the Churchill Crown, this coin absolutely the most disgusting coin I have ever handled, in fact it makes me cringe to look at it! The illiterate forger of this coin seems to have hired a child to engrave a portrait of Queen Victoria and the result is truly awful. The forger should have been hung for artistic mis-representation, because in comparison his forgery attempt is a very minor crime. All the 'R's are lower case, the 'N's in 'BRITANNIA' and the 'F's in 'FID' and 'DEF' are upside-down and the wrong way round. The relief is far to high and the coin, dated 1841 is around two thirds the thickness of the real thing. I intend putting this coin in a dark envelope and never setting eyes on it again!

This is the real thing and what the coin should look like....

The Victorian public were obviously not convinced by these attempts, both made using the metal mentioned at the top of the page. Suspicious folk have gone to the lengths of cutting these coins, revealing the Crystalline interior to prove they are indeed fake! I also have a couple of fake George V Half Crowns that have met with a similar fate.

A quite good counterfeit Half Crown dated 1845. Good weight and definition with some of the original silvering remaining on the lead coloured metal. I have another of these dated 1874 which seems to have been struck with different dies, like the real later Half Crowns were, but is of slightly inferior workmanship. I also have a fake shilling dated 1864 which even has a small die number above the date like the original. It's too worn to read, but did that die number get into the wrong hands?

Not much left of this heavily worn counterfeit Edward VII florin. It seems clear that the metal used in many of the fakes of this period is not as resistant to wear as silver or even gold. This coin feels significantly lighter than the real thing but has the right dimensions.

As you can see, some of the gold colouring is still visible around the lettering. The quality is good and would have looked much better at the time with full 'gold' lustre and no wear. I don't know if it fooled many people because it is so much lighter than the real thing.

George V to now

I have a few low quality fakes from George V, George VI and even Elizabeth II. They all appear to be made from the same lead coloured metal as the coins above and are mainly Shillings and Half Crowns. Occasionally, if you live in the UK you will come across fake coins from time to time in the form of One Pound coins that seem to circulate with increasing frequency. I have a fake 1997 One Pound coin with the English reverse but incorrect Welsh edge legend. I suppose it was only a matter of time, but recent reports have also been coming in about fake Two Pound Coins (the bi metallic type).

The Royal mint recently said they estimate 1% of the £1 coins in London to be fakes, many think the proportion is much higher. Fake £1 coins can apparently be bought for 20p each and have been supplied in their natural alloy silver colour, with a can of gold spray paint to finish them off!

As coin making technology gets more and more advanced it is difficult for forgers to make convincing copies, but that certainly won't stop them trying! Most modern coins have unique levels of electrical conductivity and most vending machines are tuned to only accept coins with the right electrical resistance.

In years to come the modern attempts will be just as important as pieces of historical evidence as the real thing. I do not necessarily think that defrauding the government or the public is right, but the results of people trying with varying degrees of success do provide an interesting glimpse into the darker side of numismatics.

I hope you found this section of some interest. Please do email me with comments, additions and corrections.

Chris Perkins 5th July 2003.

Updated slightly 22nd March 2005. Converted to PHP format 20th December 2005