British West Africa 1913 2 shillings
This specimen was lot 71103 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, October 2019), where it sold for $264. The catalog description[1] noted, "BRITISH WEST AFRICA. 2 Shillings, 1913. PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield. Featuring steel gray surfaces fully awash in a light crimson hue, this Near Gem specimen is surpassed in the PCGS census by just two other examples." British West Africa comprised Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Nigeria. The union broke up in the late fifties as the parts were granted independence. This type was struck at the Royal Mint (shown here) and the Heaton mint 1913-20, when the fineness was reduced to .500. The last two shillings is dated 1952. The date is not rare but the specimen strikes are scarce.
Recorded mintage: 2,100,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 11.31 g, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-13.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The October 2019 Collector's Choice Sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.
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