Top 5 iconic pre-decimal coins?

[Nonmortuus]

10 minutes ago, Guest Kay Chapman said:

I have a 1821 George IV half crown, can anyone tell me what it is worth please?

Would depend on the condition. Pictures are needed to be able to help.

[1949threepence]

For me, and in no particular order:-

The Edward VII and pre 1927 George V shilling

The George V florin

The Victorian bun penny

The wren farthing

The thrift plant threepeny bit

All modern era I know.......  

 

 

[Sylvester]

 

Oh this is a hard question. I believe I have to give two lists for this.

The first simply because these are iconic coins, in this instance by iconic I think 'famous', but with the status comes the price that puts them well out of my budget.

1) Una & the Lion £5 coin

2) Gothic Crown 1847

3) 1934 Wreath Crown

4) 1933 penny

5) 1937 Edward VIII brass threepence

 

The second list of 'iconic' meaning designs that people should be aware of, or common coins everyone should have one of even if they are worn low grade specimens. I had to put 6 here, I just couldn't do it in 5.

1) Edward I penny (Is this not the most commonly recognised/encountered hammered coin?)

2) Edward VII florin (Originality)

3) Victoria Gothic florin (Sheer beauty)

4) Cartwheel twopence (Size and quirky denomination)

5) Victorian Bun head penny (An 'instituation' that made it to the very eve of decimalisation)

6) St. George & the Dragon sovereign, take your pick of monarch. (World famous design).

 

 

 

 

[Peckris]

Under £1k?

Ok, here goes (though 5 is a bit limiting!):

1. 1797 cartwheel twopence, or one of its proofs

2. You won't get a Vic Gothic crown, but a BU florin would be a good consolation

3. A BU bun penny, preferably from the first 4 years (v expensive otherwise..)

4. A BU George V wreath crown, or the 1927 FDC 

5. A BU 1949 brass 3d

But there are loads of other options. E.g. an Edward VII BU halfcrown, and there's his florin too.

[Oswald]

My top is

Gothic Crown 1847

William IV Half Crown 1834

Queen Anne Farthing 1714

William & Mary 1891

Edward VII florin 1902

[Rjthomp]

As a Yank and a complete newbie to coin collecting, I feel exceptionally qualified to tell you what your top five iconic coins are.

The first is a given:  the Two pence 1797 Cartwheel.  It's interesting from its historical importance as the first mass-produced coin; its monstrously huge; it features an iconic monarch, George III; and it was minted on equipment designed by James Watt, for God's sake!

The remaining four should feature iconic denominations (farthing, penny and shilling) and/or the remaining iconic monarchs:  Henry VII;Liz I, Victoria, and Liz II (Sorry we haven't really heard of any of the others, though I know you had quite a few Georges and Edwards...).

So how about a Queen Anne Shilling (yes, no one has ever heard of Queen Anne, but these were made when Isaac friggin' Newton was Master of the mint--the most important, iconic figure to ever be involved in coin production...).  I think the first GB shilling is more iconic, but I'd accept the last English Shilling if you prefer...

Lets take an 1838 Victoria young head farthing next, crossing off both an iconic denomination and monarch...

An Elizabeth I groat is my fourth choice.  It's Liz I and its a groat!  Everything went downhill for you guys when you stopped making groats...A Henry VIII groat could be substituted, I suppose...

And finally, and I know this will cause any serious coin collectors to sigh,  how about a 1967 Elizabeth II penny?  Last of an era, and the large penny is your most iconic

denomination of all...

[copper123]

The edward VII florin

Victoria crown 1887

A copper penny victoria

A bronze penny bun head

George V florin

Edited September 28, 2017 by copper123

[zookeeperz]

What about the poor old threepence a reverse design that lasted how many monarchs? William IV through to george V . Now that is iconic

Definitely cartwheel tuppence  Just always makes my mind wander to the time and who would be carrying these around

Same can be said for any of the gothic florins. I believe our most iconic and probably the greatest coin design we have had

St george sovereign just as classy and what better icon to be used than the great St george our flag bearer

Also I believe the old penny again it matters not from what era of milled coins from George III onwards despite it's weight changes and slightly smaller diameters the Penny was huge. Any overseas visitor right up  to decimalisation would associate blighty with the big penny

I am going to sneak in the sixpence that funny old 2 1/2 pence anything that was given 2 nicknames "The Bender" and most recognised as "The tanner" deserves iconic status and this little description for one so small clearly was held with the highest regard by the british public

Bender – A sixpence was known as a bender because due to its silver content it could be bent in the hands. This was commonly done to create ‘love tokens’, many of which survive in collections to this day. The value of a sixpence was also enough to get thoroughly inebriated as taverns would often allow you to drink all day for tuppence. This gave rise to the expression ‘Going on a bender’.  Says it all lol  

Tanner – this alternative name for the sixpence probably dates from the early 1800s and seems to have its root in the Romany gypsy ‘tawno’ which means ‘small one’.   

I am less convinced about the latter's. Description more likely something to do with the tannery where the leather goods were sourced. Perhaps it cost a sixpence for a pair of shoes or a  leather belt . I just can't get the leap of faith from tawno to tanner . Chalk and cheese imo  

And a tradition still used to this day even though the coins have long since gone was to put a sixpence in the xmas pudding . Finders keepers. The high society actually use gold ones. Nice little side earner again for the RM 

Edited October 23, 2017 by zookeeperz

[copper123]

6 hours ago, zookeeperz said:

Bender – A sixpence was known as a bender because due to its silver content it could be bent in the hands. This was commonly done to create ‘love tokens’, many of which survive in collections to this day. The value of a sixpence was also enough to get thoroughly inebriated as taverns would often allow you to drink all day for tuppence. This gave rise to the expression ‘Going on a bender’.  Says it all lol

A night out on Twopence  you surely have to go back to hogarths Gin lane period for that .

I bet that stuff burned hole in tables lol

Edited October 23, 2017 by copper123

[zookeeperz]

1 hour ago, copper123 said:

A night out on Twopence  you surely have to go back to hogarths Gin lane period for that .

I bet that stuff burned hole in tables lol

Yes I reckon they would probably die before they got totally sloshed