Item number: A330

Year: AD 1804

Material: Copper

Size: 38.8 x 38.8 mm

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This specimen is a pattern coin of King George III, minted in AD 1804 at the Soho Mint, with a value of five shillings. It is composed of copper. On the obverse, it showcases a laureate and draped bust of King George III facing right, surrounded by the Latin inscription “GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX,” which translates to “George the Third by the Grace of God King.” The reverse features Britannia seated to the left, holding an olive branch in her right hand and a spear in her left, with a shield bearing the Union flag to her left, a beehive to her left, and a cornucopia to her right, all within a garter surmounted by a castellated “crown” of five circular stone turrets. Surrounding these images is the inscription “BANK OF ENGLAND FIVE SHILLINGS DOLLAR 1804.”

Patterns are prototypes intended for coins that, in most cases, were never approved for circulation. During the Napoleonic Wars in AD 1804, when silver availability was severely restricted, the Bank of England was authorized to overstrike Spanish dollars, assigning them a value of 5 shillings. Utilizing Watt’s steam engine, a press was developed that could efficiently obliterate the designs on Spanish coins and replace them with new ones. These coins were struck between AD 1804 and AD 1811, all bearing the date AD 1804.

As the price of silver rose, the Bank’s dollars quickly gained value, prompting the Bank to announce that it would accept its 5 shillings dollars at a rate of 5 shillings and 6 pence. In AD 1811, plans were revealed for new tokens in denominations of 5 shillings and 6 pence, 3 shillings, and 1 shilling and 6 pence. By the end of AD 1816, the extensive recoinage at the Mint was nearly complete, and the Bank coins, which had amounted to nearly £4.5 million, were soon withdrawn from circulation.

While the 5 shillings and 6 pence coin was never issued, specimens exist, some displaying a Britannia design that lacks the olive branch or bank of money, and another with inscriptions only on the reverse, akin to those used on smaller denominations that were indeed issued from AD 1811 to AD 1816. 

物件編號: A330

年代: 公元 1804 年

材料: 銅

尺寸: 38.8 x 38.8 mm

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這枚乃公元1804年於索霍造幣廠鑄造之喬治三世面值五先令銀幣的樣幣，其材質為銅。正面展示喬治三世戴桂冠、披袍的右臉像，周圍環繞拉丁文銘文「GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX」，意為「蒙上帝之恩，喬治三世國王」。背面則可見面向左邊，呈現坐姿的不列顛尼亞。她右手持橄欖枝，左手持矛，身旁有聯合旗幟的盾牌、左邊有蜂箱、右邊有豐饒角，所有圖案置於由五座圓形石塔組成的城堡式「皇冠」的環繞下。圖案四周刻有「BANK OF ENGLAND FIVE SHILLINGS DOLLAR 1804」的銘文。

樣幣是用於設計硬幣的原型，大部分情況下並未經過批准流通。公元1804年，在拿破崙戰爭再次導致銀的供應短缺之際，英格蘭銀行獲得授權，將西班牙銀元重新打印，定為五先令。英格蘭銀行利用瓦特的蒸汽機，開發了一種可以迅速刪除西班牙銀幣設計並替換新設計的壓印機。這些硬幣於公元1804年至公元1811年間鑄造，但均印有公元1804年的日期。

隨著銀價上漲，英格蘭銀行的銀元很快就升值，因此銀行宣布將以五先令六便士的匯率接受其五先令硬幣。公元1811年，宣佈發行新的五先令六便士、三先令和一先令六便士的硬幣計劃。到公元1816年底，造幣廠的大規模重新鑄幣幾乎完成，銀行發行的代幣總額近450萬英鎊後不久即被召回。

雖然五先令六便士的硬幣從未發行，但存在樣本，其中一些不具備橄欖枝或錢幣的不列顛尼亞設計，另一些僅在背面刻有銘文，類似於公元1811年至公元1816年間發行的小面額硬幣。