Great Britain 1879 2 pence
This specimen was part of lot 37221 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), which sold for $900. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Maundy Set (4 Pieces), 1879. London Mint. Victoria. All PCGS Certified. S-3916; KM-MDS-133 (for the set). All housed in older generation PCGS holders. 1) 4 Pence. PCGS MS-67. 2) 3 Pence. PCGS MS-66. 3) 2 Pence. PCGS MS-66. 4) Penny. PCGS MS-65." This silver two pence or "tuppence" was struck during the reign of Victoria, queen of Britain 1837-1901. The type was struck 1838-1887 for the Maundy sets. The only dates struck for circulation are 1838, 1843 and 1848 and were exported to various British colonies. As most Maundy sets were carefully preserved by their recipients, Maundy coins are today much more available than the low mintage would indicate.
Recorded mintage: 6,925 for the Maundy sets.
Specification: 0.94 g, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: S-3919; KM-729.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Rayner, P. Alan, and Maurice Bull, English Silver Coinage from 1649, 6th Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2015.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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