George 111 1799 1/4d. Broken R...Looks Like K

[bazvogue]

Hi to all bought this 1799 Geo 111 farthing at a stamp fair last weekend from a dealer who also sells coins...is this known?

swiped 6 or so scans of this coin and date and all have complete R in legend.

Thanks Baz

[Rob]

Weak lettering on both sides of the Soho conventional currency coins at this time is commonly encountered. The cartwheel pieces having an incuse legend are usually well struck up, but those with the raised legend are often found with weak, verging on non-existent letters. I have ascribed this to a build up of rubbish on the dies generated by small particles left when the die was retracted from the surface of the coin coupled with a small amount of rotational play in the mechanism. It is always restricted to the legend and is often coupled with rough circles at the same diameter as the legend.

In the case of the coin above, what appears to have happened is that the incuse detail on the die has become blocked with rubbish leading to a partially formed character. This happens on any coins from any period. There is still a trace of the top of the R visible in the image.

[bazvogue]

A more likely and logical explanation would be a damaged die

Thanks Baz

[Rob]

A more likely and logical explanation would be a damaged die

Thanks Baz

No, it isn't damaged, but rather is infilled. The design is incuse, so the missing part of the R is due to rubbish in the depression. If the die was damaged, this would result in raised lumps, or flaws leading off the letters. This would reflect the removal of metal on the die