damian1986

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.

I've just finished reading an article written by Katherine Eustace entitled Britannia: Some High Points in the History of the Iconography on British Coinage. It traces the history of the Britannia designs and suggests that the designs evolution was greatly inspired by significant social, political and economic factors. It's an interesting read with a handful of plates. So I'm wondering - which of the Britannia designs is your favourite? Britannia first appears in Roman coins. With the restoration of the monarchy Britannia appears first in a medal (1660) and then in a number of farthing patterns.

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?

I have a few problems with this statement so I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. The highest graded coin you can afford may be a 1905 shilling in BU but for what this costs you could pick up every other Edward VII shilling (and probably a handful of Victorian old head shillings) in BU. You collect bronze and copper but would like to put together a set of Edward VII florins for example - collecting only the highest graded florins would be at the expense of adding to your copper collection. Without actually getting your mitts on a whole bunch of coins you're not going to learn much about say, the British Sixpence or some other denomination outside of your main focus

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.