sovereign/half sovereign or fake :(

[bibbly]

Hi everyone - Im completely new to all this, and no nothing about coins so please bear with me! I am clearing out and have found a coin I was told was a sovereign or half sovereign, it was given to me by my Granny 30 years ago. It is goldy coloured. but a bit dull looking and measures just over 2 cms across. One side has a pic of Queen Victoria, she has an earring in and her hair is tied up and she has some kind of hair band in her hair, and it has the words VICTORIA REGINA around the picture. The other side has some dude on a horse and a dragon, so Im guessing he may be St George (??) Above him is the wording TO HANOVER and below him it says 1837.

I showed this to a 'knowledgeable' friend and he says its just some cheap fake as Victoric sovereigns didnt start till 1838. I'd be gutted to learn this is the case, can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks guys

[scottishmoney]

It is a common medallion that was struck when Victoria ascended the throne in 1837. Under Salic law in Germany she could not ascend the Hannoverian throne, so her cousin Ernst assumed that throne. But there were many opins contemporarily that she should have been able to ascend such throne, and it would be fascinating to see what the difference in German history would have been should she have. For one, Hannover would not have been forcibly annexed into Prussia, and would have stood out in the German Unification in 1870-1871.

The value is nominal, as noted above they are right common pieces.

[bibbly]

It is a common medallion that was struck when Victoria ascended the throne in 1837. Under Salic law in Germany she could not ascend the Hannoverian throne, so her cousin Ernst assumed that throne. But there were many opins contemporarily that she should have been able to ascend such throne, and it would be fascinating to see what the difference in German history would have been should she have. For one, Hannover would not have been forcibly annexed into Prussia, and would have stood out in the German Unification in 1870-1871.

The value is nominal, as noted above they are right common pieces.

Ah well, thanks for the info. My poor Gran thought she was giving me something precios I guess, she wouldnt have known any better. Something to give the kids then. Story of my life, lol ......

[Peter]

If you google Cumberland Jack you will find plenty of information

[bibbly]

If you google Cumberland Jack you will find plenty of information

I just did - oh dear, lol. They aren't even selling at a fiver each on ebay! I feel sad for my poor Gran tho, as she probably got ripped off big time when she bought these (she gave myself and my 2 brothers one each) I've lost nothing except a little excitement, she probably lost a good few quid she could ill afford! Still - it's been an interesting way to spend a monrning on the net and Im going to rummage out all the other old coins I have now! :) Thanks guys.

[Chris Perkins]

It's the thought that counts isn't it!

Our old next-door neighbour Maud (who had long since forgotten how old she was, and no one knew) gave my little sister a 'sovereign' when she was born in 1983. It was of course a shiny new 1983 £1 coin! To Maud it was a sovereign, which is sort of correct in a way.

[bibbly]

It's the thought that counts isn't it!

Our old next-door neighbour Maud (who had long since forgotten how old she was, and no one knew) gave my little sister a 'sovereign' when she was born in 1983. It was of course a shiny new 1983 £1 coin! To Maud it was a sovereign, which is sort of correct in a way.

Awwww bless.... thats sweet. Probably worth more than my bloomin 'sovereign' from my gran!

[Chris Perkins]

BU 1983 £1 coin, yes must be worth at least £3 now. Probably more than you'll get for an average Cumberland Jack I'm afraid.

[Colin G.]

It's the thought that counts isn't it!

Our old next-door neighbour Maud (who had long since forgotten how old she was, and no one knew) gave my little sister a 'sovereign' when she was born in 1983. It was of course a shiny new 1983 £1 coin! To Maud it was a sovereign, which is sort of correct in a way.

Awwww bless.... thats sweet. Probably worth more than my bloomin 'sovereign' from my gran!

I have got a bit of a background to the "Cumberland Jacks" on my site - Hanover Tokens

[scottishmoney]

Gram gave you something to treasure, if for no other reason than it came from Gram. Sometimes little gifts like that mean more than if they were gold. I still have a bag of pennies my Great Grandmother shined up for my 5th birthday and gave me.

[Red Riley]

It's the thought that counts isn't it!

Our old next-door neighbour Maud (who had long since forgotten how old she was, and no one knew) gave my little sister a 'sovereign' when she was born in 1983. It was of course a shiny new 1983 £1 coin! To Maud it was a sovereign, which is sort of correct in a way.

Awwww bless.... thats sweet. Probably worth more than my bloomin 'sovereign' from my gran!

Money really isn't everything. If you can't understand that i) your gran meant you to have this irrespective of it's value and ii) they are not a cheap fake but actually tell a far more interesting story than a bog standard Victorian sovereign, then I feel sorry for you. As Colin G says, look up the section on his website. Surprisingly there was a television programme recently on Ernst and his descendants.

Damn, why do I always agree with scottishmoney?

[bibbly]

It's the thought that counts isn't it!

Our old next-door neighbour Maud (who had long since forgotten how old she was, and no one knew) gave my little sister a 'sovereign' when she was born in 1983. It was of course a shiny new 1983 £1 coin! To Maud it was a sovereign, which is sort of correct in a way.

Awwww bless.... thats sweet. Probably worth more than my bloomin 'sovereign' from my gran!

Money really isn't everything. If you can't understand that i) your gran meant you to have this irrespective of it's value and ii) they are not a cheap fake but actually tell a far more interesting story than a bog standard Victorian sovereign, then I feel sorry for you. As Colin G says, look up the section on his website. Surprisingly there was a television programme recently on Ernst and his descendants.

Damn, why do I always agree with scottishmoney?

Blimey, was that a telling off? Red Riley, if you read what I have put, its actually my Gran I feel for, as she was probably the one who spent her hard earned cash on something she thought was worth a bit of money. She was not a well off lady so probably struggled to buy these tokens for my brothers and I. My intention was never to make any money, merely to find out a little more about the piece. Please dont feel sorry for me, I think that perhaps you have misunderstood the 'tone' of my last posting, it was just tongue in cheek. Im perfectly happy to keep my little memento from my Gran .... I just wanted to know a little bit about it, thats all.

[Red Riley]

Okay, apologies. Obviously a bad night. We do however get a lot of people posting on here with scant interest in an item beyond what it's worth, and to my mind that is falling into Oscar Wilde's definition of the cynic, whatever the subject. Having re-read your posting, I accept that that that wasn't the situation in your case.

[bibbly]

Okay, apologies. Obviously a bad night. We do however get a lot of people posting on here with scant interest in an item beyond what it's worth, and to my mind that is falling into Oscar Wilde's definition of the cynic, whatever the subject. Having re-read your posting, I accept that that that wasn't the situation in your case.

Thanks Red Riley, apology accepted.

Re my coin, I was showing it to my 10 year old daughter last night, and she was fascinated with the whole 'it came from your great-grandmother' thing, as both my mum and gran have been dead for a lot of years so my kids never met either of them. Once we started, we then had to rummage thru all the drawers to find the other coins and bits I knew were in there, and we found a few half crowns and three pence thingys and shillings and a sixpence... my daughter was completely hooked, and spent ages looking them all up on the net and we had a brilliant mother/daughter kind of night! So .... I guess my old gran must have known what she was up to after all!

[Chris Perkins]

One of my old books is in the public domain as an ebook:

http://www.rotographic.com/britishcoins2005public.pdf

The prices are out of date but there are lots of pictures etc.

[bibbly]

One of my old books is in the public domain as an ebook:

http://www.rotographic.com/britishcoins2005public.pdf

The prices are out of date but there are lots of pictures etc.

Thanks Chris - we have had a good rummage through your book. There are all kinds of bits and pieces in my 'collection' of coins, nothing worth much, but the kids have had great fun looking them up and doing 'bark rubbings' with waz crayons on them! Deffo something to keep, purely for the novelty value and for entertaining the kids on a wet day.

[hyundisonata]

The real value is in the meaning of the gift, it was not until my father passed away that I realized the true value of the odds and ends from my child hood, I had no idea he had been keeping such things as my stamp collection and coins, plus numerous other items and now I am getting on in the years I can understand why he did this and now have long forgotten memories a history of my childhood. So in your gran giving you this coin gives it a value that cannot be bought.