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George III Forgeries Part 2

Forged George III Third Guinea.

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.

Forged George III Quarter Guinea.

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.

Forged George III Half Guinea.

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.

Forged George III Half Penny

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!

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