damian1986

The 1902 florin - Britannia emancipated... In 1987 52 designs by 14 designers were submitted to the mint. The winner was Philip Nathan. His 1987 Britannia design is based on the 1902 florin. Credit to Coin Gallery and Coin Quest for some of these images.

Later we see the Victorian bunhead reverse and in 1953 the penny reverse got a slight redesign, borrowing form the Victorian bunhead Britannia (a lighthouse appears and more drapery).

1797 saw the introduction of the trident to the pennies and two pence coins. The William Wyon designs are a whole discussion in themselves. My (overwhelming) favourite is the reverse of the Pestrucci-head farthings of George IV.

The 1665 pattern, inscription Quatuor Maria Vindico ("I claim the four seas"), was probably the one used for the 1672 currency farthing.

Thanks for the excellent responses here I'm glad I posted.

Hard work doesn't always equate to more money, and when it does, you will still be faced with the dilemma of only being able to afford the earth and not the earth + the 62 moons of Saturn. You are right though - it boils down to wanting everything instantly and I like your point about setting realistic goals. Hah good point. I suppose then if you're happy with the VF or EF coins and feel they do justice to the date run it's fine. Tied in with Rob's point I think having clearer defined and financially realistic goals will help. This particular goal could be changed to "I want all the Edward VII shillings in EF+ except for 1905, for which I want a nice VF" and I guess there's no rush. I think I'd be pretty happy with this At the same time?

If anyone is looking for an 1873 farthing in EF then look no further than this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-1873-Queen-Victoria-Hair-In-Bun-EF-Toothed-Beads-Bronze-Farthing-/271370483828?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item3f2ef0f874 He neglects to mention it but it's a low set 3 so this may make up for it having been run through a washing machine. I'm also quite smitten with this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-1897-Queen-Victoria-Veiled-EF-Toothed-Beads-Bronze-Penny-/271374217972?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item3f2f29f2f4 But I think it may have been weakly struck.