Great Britain 1863 farthing
This specimen was lot 31735 in Heritage sale 3067 (Long Beach, September 2018), where it sold for $900. The catalog description[1] noted, "Great Britain: Victoria Proof Farthing 1863 PR64 Brown NGC. An extremely rare Proof and supremely attractive, 'brown' an injustice to its lustrous red surfaces. Stormy colors gleam across the flashy fields, the devices definitively struck and bearing essentially no contact marks whatsoever. Stunning and of high rarity, sure to end up in a premium collection of British Farthings." This penny was struck 1860-73 in several varieties and is common, tho the proofs are rare. Worn specimens fill dealer junk boxes. Numerous varieties exist. In 1874, the design was revised to use a beaded border.
Recorded mintage: 1,434,000 plus proofs, a better date.
Specification: 2.83 g, bronze.
Catalog reference: KM 747.2, S-3958, Peck-1868.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- Freeman, Michael J., The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain, Rev. Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2006.
- Peck, C. Wilson, English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum, 1558-1958, 2nd Ed., London: Oxford University Press, 1970.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2018 September 6-11 Long Beach Expo World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction #3067, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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