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These are honest examples. No problems with them. The edge inscription on Charles II crown reads "DECVS ET TVTAMEN ANNO REGNI VICESIMO OCTAVO". The phrase "DECVS ET TVTAMEN" was first used in 1662 and translates to "An ornament and a safeguard". The presence of an edge inscription would stop people from clipping the coins illegally to get some silver as mentioned in the above post. Hence the word "safeguard". The Charles II is perhaps worth £80. The 1892 is worth about £35.

I love the XL to the side of the bust , ironic he was a poison dwarf at about 5 foot 2

Apologies I missed this one! Seeing this up close, now confirms for me it’s a contemporary counterfeit! The lis, lions, mintmark and lettering are all wrong for type. It would’ve turned numismatics on its head if it was 1571 with eglantine All the same it’s probably worth the same as the genuine article, and much more interesting on account of it.

Ah, no wasn't me, and yes kept just in case it comes in handy..... on one Sunday afternoon trudging around a hot field looking at stalls that are best described as one stop away a rubbish dump... I happen upon a paste table with carrier bags loaded with bones... turns out the fella is house clearance service and a loft at a doctors house was cleared, all sorts of medical equipment and.... stuff was sold. last knockings at 3pm find what you want and make an offer..... my kinda chat! so skull was sold to his mate and the rest had to go as his wife didn't want it back in the house...by order! so manage to find the right hand and with £3.20p to my name a deal was done!

Sure have to love Scottish denominations ie 40d. Largely a result of debasing the coinage and then revaluing it. England was fortunate that debasement only happened during the reign of Henry VIII - and the crown went back on the sterling standard early in the reign of Edward VI. In Scotland debasements started late in the 14th century and continued right up until the reign of Charles I when the currency was brought back to a fixed standard of 12:1 or briefly 13:1 during the late 17th century.

Just a note on contemporary counterfeits - they were made to circulate and not fool future collectors - as noted above the penalties were stiff if the forgers were caught. Any counterfeits found in circulation by the authorities would have been destroyed - as a result forgeries are often quite a bit scarcer than the authentic coins. During Queen Mary of Scotland's reign French troops were billeted in Edinburgh - it is believed they were the guilty parties forging low value 2d coins ie bodles with bronze instead of billon as the authentic coins. The forged coins are quite scarce but have a history and are worth more than the reasonably common authentic bodles.

They both look like the real things are supposed to - the writing on the edge is the lettered edge that was done when the coin was struck in a lettered collar. It was quite an innovation for the 17th century and was obviously used on higher denomination coins as a safeguard against clipping and counterfeiting. Unfortunately I don't have my 1676 crown imaged - but it circulated a long time - deep into the 18th century as it is also "loved"

Well I never.... a Counterfeit living or occurring at the same time, I did go an have a look see CooooooooL! The Treason Act 1415 (4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 6) was an Act of the Parliament of England which made clipping coins high treason, punishable by death. (It was already treason to counterfeit coins. ) The act was repealed by the Treason Act 1553, and then revived again in 1562. The act originally only protected English coins, but was later extended in 1575 to cover foreign coins "current" within England........ Also..... Treason is perhaps the most infamous crime in English Legal History, due in part to the horrendous punishment that came with it but also due to its often strong political importance. The punishment that was often inflicted was the drawing of the traitor across rough ground by horse, he would then be hanged to within an inch of death, followed by being disembowelled, burnt, and beheaded. Your remaining carcass was cut into four pieces. The punishment of being hung, drawn and quartered has morbidly captured the public’s imagination for many centuries. Bloody heck!

Its that cold our local flash has frozen.