1889 Penny / Die Pairings and Date Widths

[DaveG38]

On 25/04/2016 at 8:35 AM, secret santa said:

I believe that Terry may have unwittingly discovered another difference between Gouby obverses R and S. I previously thought that the extra leaf was the only difference, which made it very difficult to distinguish between varieties on worn examples. But, having looked again after terry's post above, it appears to me that obverse R has the R and E of REG separated by a definite gap whereas obverse S has the R and E virtually touching. I only have a few examples of each but so far this difference is consistent. Could other collectors please check their coins for me. This could prove to be an effective means of distinguishing between R and S (Freeman 12 and 13) on worn specimens.

 

A quick check on mine shows that I have Obv S and this has the tiny gap between R and E. For what it is worth, my coin has the Gouby Aa reverse.