1825 Shilling - how to spot a Barton Metal/Gilded variety

[Paddy]

I have had this 1825 shilling in my collection for years and I always assumed it was just someone's attempt to pass off as a Sovereign by gold plating it.

However, I was looking in ESC this morning and spotted that there was a gold coloured variety produced in "Barton metal" - copper between thin layers of gold. I got to wondering if this might explain my gilded shilling. The weight is the same as the silver shilling (5.62g). ESC mentions that the copper is sometimes visible on the edge - I cannot see any evidence of that. Is there any other way of distinguishing them?

Here is the specimen:

[Paddy]

And here is a view of the edge:

[Rob]

The Barton Metal pieces are plain edge.

[Rob]

Viewed head on they look like a normal gold proof

[Paddy]

That's great - thanks. So definitely not a Barton.

And I assume it can't be a gold proof, so we are back to the original attribution - a gilded silver 1825 shilling.

 

[Peckris 2]

On 4/13/2024 at 11:45 AM, Paddy said:

That's great - thanks. So definitely not a Barton.

And I assume it can't be a gold proof, so we are back to the original attribution - a gilded silver 1825 shilling.

There are also lots of farthings in this series which have been gilded to pass off as half sovs. I have two - one dull and clumsy, the other lustrous and very attractive.

[Cambs coin collector]

On 4/13/2024 at 10:41 AM, Paddy said:

I have had this 1825 shilling in my collection for years and I always assumed it was just someone's attempt to pass off as a Sovereign by gold plating it.

However, I was looking in ESC this morning and spotted that there was a gold coloured variety produced in "Barton metal" - copper between thin layers of gold. I got to wondering if this might explain my gilded shilling. The weight is the same as the silver shilling (5.62g). ESC mentions that the copper is sometimes visible on the edge - I cannot see any evidence of that. Is there any other way of distinguishing them?

Here is the specimen:

The best way to confirm is to test with an XRF machine. They offer this service on eBay

[Rob]

Best way is to avoid ebay. Don't feed the beast, as they aren't open minded. By their own admission they don't have enough experts to remove claimed fakes, so have to rely on alternative opinions.

Given Barton's metal is a gold leaf bound to a copper substrate, it is virtually impossible to get sufficient metal flow of the gold when cutting the blank from the sheet to completely cover the copper edge as seen above on my halfcrown. The smaller the denomination, the easier it will become due to thickness, but punching equipment isn't renowned for producing perfect blanks, and not required, given the coin with be struck with a collar to stop the metal flowing sideways. It isn't impossible to get some gold on the edge, but perfectly covered? Not in my opinion, though others may choose to differ.