Victoria 1879 Crown

[colliewalker1]

This coin offered on Ebay (auction ends 11.27am 13/10/04) is described as"G.B.Victoria PIEDFORT THICKNESS 1879 Pattern Crown" and is said to be hallmarked by the London Assay Office.

According to Collectors Coins - Great Britain 2004 - it merely says "offers for this exceed £15,000" - nothing under Fine/Vf/EF. Tony Clayton says that this Crown is extremely rare - and here it is on Ebay with a current offer of £33.33.

Do the words "Proof Pattern" rather than just "Proof"mean that its a reproduction? It certainly LOOKS very desirable but it surely can't be genuine.

Presumably even as a 'phoney' it has SOME value

Members' comments will be awaited with interest!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...item=3934208221

[Coppers]

Spink had a sale in recent years consisting mainly of a series of privately struck modern "retro-patterns" and this undoubtedly is one of the them. These pieces were designed to look like earlier official coin issues and you'll see loads of them being offered for sale on ebay.

[Chris Perkins]

of course it isn't a real one for £33. And it's bloody mis leading to novices the fact that 'Modern Repro' is not clearly stated. It really shouldn't be allowed.

[Geoff T]

I've got one of these. They're very handsome in their own right, but don't pay more than about £15 for it in cu-ni.

G

[colliewalker1]

Yes, looking again at Ebay there are a number of 1879 reproduction Crowns on offer – in a variety of metals - copper, a golden alloy as well as silver: obviously the latter is more realistic although I can’t understand why the background is so much darker than the patterned areas.

I also can’t understand why anyone would choose a copper or ‘gold’ version – except that they are cheap at £9.99 instead of £24.99.

As Chris says its outrageous that it isn’t made clear – in this particular case anyway – that the ‘coin’ is a reproduction – confirming the perils of Ebay for the unwary!!

Bearing in mind that ownership of a genuine 1879 Crown is an impossibilty, buying a good quality reproduction must have some appeal for many collectors.

I am very interested to learn that the renowned Spink organisation have beeninvolved in the sale of such replicas, which does lend respectability to the concept.

I have seen reproductions of VERY early English coins on offer on a dealer website: they are quite lowly priced and from the photos anyway look sharply imprinted and attractive.Here too, buying the genuine article would be unrealistic for many and these copies could be an intersting alternative.

Geoff T sums it up when he says that these reproductions are handsome in their own right.