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

 

(See also Scottish & Irish sections)

 

Commemorative Medals

 

WCA-5522:  1689 William & Mary Large Coronation Medal.  Persius delivering Andromeda from a sea monster.  By George Bower in white metal.  £179

 

WCA-5504:  1689 William & Mary Silver Medal.  Coronation medal commemorating the festivities in Rotterdam.  A well executed medal that has seen life in circulation although as it lies between a shilling and halfcrown, one wonders at what denomination it circulated as.  £225

 

 

 

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

 

 

WCA-5481:  1694 William & Mary Copper Proof Halfpenny.  Over weight and larger planchet, en medaille die axis.  Usual die flaw on rim (described in Peck).  Good VF grade.  Peck 612 although the N’s are unusual and seemingly not rerecorded in Peck.  A lovely coin in very nice grade considering the soft nature of the copper used in this period.  £639

 

 

 

Patterns

 

WCA-5238:  William & Mary Pattern Farthing - Silver.  Circa 1689.  William one side, Mary the other.  Nice grade.  Part of an old collection.  £355

 

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

 

 

 

Half Crowns

 

WCA-5980: 1689 William & Mary Silver Half Crown.  Rarer first reverse shield with no pearls.  Strong edge.  £285

 

WCA-5956: 1689 William & Mary Silver Half Crown – Momento Mori.  Hand engraved on the obverse, “S.S. 1802” and on the reverse, “S.S.” within a pair of funerary urns.  This, and several other engraved coins, would have been given out to relatives and guests of S.S. upon his or her funeral in 1802.  An interesting insight into the social practices of over 200 years ago.  £145

 

WCA-5871:  1693 William & Mary Silver Half Crown.  Inverted 6 for 9.  Rarer date.  £375

 

 

 

Maundy

 

WCA-5798:  1691 over 90 William & Mary Silver Groat.  Nice grade, clear over-date.  £115

 

WCA-5647:  1694 William & Mary Silver Twopence.  William & Mary Maundy pieces are uncommon in any grade these days.  £89

 

 

 

Tin

 

WCA-6559:  1692 William & Mary Tin Halfpenny.  A high grade 1692 tin halfpenny with the date as clear as you like in the exergue – S.R. 3449.   Ex 1970’s Thames Ferryman Hoard.  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) so high grade examples, invariably out of the Thames, are at a 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!  £700 VF, £2,750 EF (2018).  This coin is extremely solid & stable, with an excellent edge, and looks better in the hand than these indifferent images suggest.  £495

 

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