kaba

I came across a copy of H Montagu’s book Copper coins of England, 1885 in an antique shop this weekend, the title page states “ The Copper, Tin And Bronze Coinage And Patterns For Coins Of England From The Reign Of Elizabeth To That Of Her Present Majestyâ€. What has interested me the most is the brief section of Victorian Bronze Pennies, as only two variants are mentioned, the beaded and toothed of 1860 this surprised me somewhat as I would have thought that the author of what he claims, is a definitive work would have picked up these variants, unless of course they saw no value in them! Further examination of the book produced a folded sheet of paper printed with copies of letters dated March 1875, where the original writer claims to have discovered forged 1d coins, these could be identified because they have a small H below the date, the respondents, stating the correct origin of this variant. That Henry Garside a friend of Mr DT Batty who was the main respondant, saw fit to transcribe and print the replies in June 1887 appears to show a period when variants (in Bronze Pennies) were starting to be recognised as collectable in their own right, or have I assumed too much?

I hope you bought the book. Any correspondence which is attributable to the owner of the book would enhance its resale value, particularly if the book was either Garside's or Batty's. Montagu had little time for later coinage and sold his collection of George 1st onwards to Spink in 1890 in order to concentrate on coins prior to this. The contents of his book as a reference source are not very comprehensive and also included pieces that are today considered to be tokens or similar whereas they were previously considered to be patterns. Some were included on the authority of previous writers without having been examined. Concerning the varieties of penny, it is fair to say that the major collectors of the era on the whole paid relatively little attention to contemporary common currency pieces. A situation which hasn't changed much today.

Many thanks for you reply, an email sent.

Having recently returned to collecting Victorian Bronze pennies, and finding this forum i was interested to see reference to John Jerrams and his book, 'The Early British Bronze 'Bun' Pennies'. Where can i obtain a copy and what is the going rate?