William & Mary (1688 - 94) Read about Mary II

(See also Scottish & Irish sections)

Commemorative Medals

WCA-9219: 1694 Very Large Copper Medal - Death of Mary II. Obverse: Queen Mary (of William & Mary fame - such is the nature of this often overshadowed British monarch that we have to resort to giving her context by naming her alongside the much better known William, who was not even remotely English although to be fair, Mary did only reign jointly whilst William reigned solely after his wife's death as William III), right; reverse: dates of Mary's birth and death, showing she was just 32 when she died of smallpox in 1694. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 111/343, Eimer 362. These were sold in London to mourners for the princely sum of Five Shillings each (about 3d in copper value). Dies by either J or N Roettiers. Often, as the years tumbled on, such medals became obsolete as new monarchs came and went. As such, these old medals were often used as currency - this was particularly so on the smaller silver medals which would be accepted as halfcrowns, shillings, etc (remember, currency was 100% about the metal content, not the design on the front and back, which is why foreign coinage was generally accepted as currency in the British Isles). Interestingly, this medal has seen some wear, it being a tad below VF, but how? There's no way this could resemble any currency coin because even the mighty 1797 Cartwheel twopence is a good way smaller in size and weight. Historically significant and if nothing else, nice to see something of Mary without William for once! £185

Proofs

WCA-7333: 1694 William & Mary SILVER PROOF Farthing. Proofs, or trial / test pieces, were struck using silver (very rarely they used gold, eg one or two Irish Gun Money pieces, etc.) planchets before general production to test both the quality of the dies as well as the final product – the coin itself. They were not designed to enter circulation, although clearly this one escaped and did just that, presumably passing as a silver sixpence. Fully detailed in Peck (#623) and recommended by myself as if not essential, definitely interesting reading for all low denomination coins from Cromwell onwards. To illustrate just how rare these silver proofs are, this was a random example I had to hand – see here. Rest assured, this will not cost you the £4,000+ ticket price after commission!! Extremely rare. £335

Patterns

WCA-6494: William & Mary Pattern Copper Halfpenny. Circa 1689. William one side, Mary the other – a marked difference to the standard conjoined busts coinage that we are all familiar with. Listed in Peck (636). Rare. £265

Tin

WCA-9376: An Exceptional Grade 1691 William & Mary Tin Halfpenny. Conjoined heads; date in exergue as well as on the edge legend. Britannia seated. S.R. 3449, Peck 572 (listed as Extremely Rare). This ill advised tin issue was initiated under Charles II in 1684 in an attempt to help out the ailing Cornish tin industry. In 1692, tin coins were gone, literally never to appear again within British currency. These soft tin coins had an alarming rate of wear from circulation. The Ferryman’s hoard of W&M tin coins from the River Thames in the 1970’s was made up of 1690 through to 1692 tin coins. There were no copper 1694 coins leading to the conclusion that the purse was dropped into the Thames 1693 or earlier. Of the many coins, the 1690’s were all very worn, the 1691’s quite worn and the 1692’s being at least somewhat worn. The 1690’s coins could only have been in circulation for three years or so but they were all very worn. Even the coins that had been in circulation for only up to a year or so were worn. This illustrates just how hard it is to find high grade tin coinage. As well as wear, the tin coinage corrodes in air and soil (tin was far too reactive a metal to be used for coinage, something it took the mint 8 years to realise) so high grade examples, invariably out of the Thames (ideal anaerobic conditions), which is the likely source of this coin (although unlikely to be from the Ferryman's Hoard due to the high grade for an early date coin), are at a huge premium. Counterfeiting was clearly a consideration back then as every tin coin that left the mint had a copper plug – designed as an anti counterfeiting measure. Perhaps the Mint ought to have had similar considerations just a few decades on, during the mid to late 1700’s, when towards the end of the century, counterfeit (and we’re talking really obvious / very little effort re dies or even the final product) “copper” coins literally outnumbered the genuine coinage in circulation! gVF grade (with the edge being the best I have ever seen, bar none), which really is extraordinary for this issue. Choice. £1,895

Provenance:

ex Colin Cooke collection

WCA-7980: A+ Choice 1692 William and Mary TIN with Copper Plug Halfpenny. Very Fine grade. Conjoined Heads; date in exergue, Britannia seated. S.R. 3449. This ill advised tin issue was initiated under Charles II in 1684 in an attempt to help out the ailing Cornish tin industry. In 1692, the date on this coin, it was gone, never to appear again. These tin coins had an alarming rate of wear from circulation. The Ferryman’s hoard of W&M tin coins from the River Thames in the 1970’s was made up of 1690 through to 1692 tin coins. There were no copper 1694 coins leading to the conclusion that the purse was dropped into the Thames 1693 or earlier. Of the many coins, the 1690’s were all very worn, the 1691’s quite worn and the 1692’s being at least somewhat worn. The 1690’s coins could only have been in circulation for three years or so but they were all very worn. Even the coins that had been in circulation for only up to a year or so were worn. This illustrates just how hard it is to find high grade tin coinage. As well as wear, the tin coinage corrodes in air and the soil (tin was far too reactive a metal to be used for coinage, something it took the mint 8 years to realise) so high grade examples, invariably out of the Thames (anaerobic conditions), which is the likely source of this coin, are at a huge premium. Counterfeiting was clearly a consideration as every tin coin that left the mint had a copper plug – designed as an anti counterfeiting measure. Perhaps the Mint ought to have had similar considerations just a few decades on, during the mid to late 1700’s, when towards the end of the century, counterfeit (and we’re talking really obvious / very little effort re dies or even the final product) “copper” coins literally outnumbered the genuine coinage in circulation! Ex Haddenham collection (mid 1980's), ex Spink. Choice. £1,795

Copper

WCA-6003: 1694 William & Mary Copper Halfpenny – Rare Variety & Choice. Easily VF for issue and probably better. That grade in itself makes this single year issue for copper desirable. It was a large issue but widely circulated over a great many years. The tin halfpence and farthings were extremely short lived in both issue but more importantly life-span, which again put the burden on the coppers. It is worth repeating: You hardly ever see VF or better W&M halfpennies. This coin is the rare “1694 unbarred A’s in MARIA” variety (see image) which S.R. rate at £525 in VF (2015 price guide - S.R. 3452). £495