1854 Penny

[JOHN 0]

Here is something interesting to start the new year, an 1854 OT,No colons. Is it a new variety or is it a fake?

The coin weighs 18.7 grams and is 34 mm across. It looks right but .......NO COLONS !

I'm not familiar with this era of British pennies so any help would be appreciated. I hope the picture loads. Thanks, John.

[JOHN 0]

Here is the other side.

[RLC35 288]

Hi John,

Nice Penny! I checked the Peck Book on Copper Coins, and it states that "All colons sometimes weak or missing" on the OT 1854 Penny. FYI!

[JOHN 0]

Hi Bob,

Happy New Years! Thanks for the quick answer. I would guess that it is real then.

I searched the internet and could not find any with no colons which made me wonder if it was

fake. Thanks again, John.

[Rob 3,152]

From the image it looks as if there is a trace of the colon after BRITANNIAR as this is set a bit low with the top stop about half way up the R and the bottom stop below the base level.

It looks alright, but for completion's sake - what is the die axis?

[JOHN 0]

Hi Rob,

You have good eyes, I thought that was dirt or a circulation mark after the R. After looking at 10x magnification, I would

have to say that you are right, they are just barely there though.

As far as die axis; I believe it is called medal alignment . the R in REG lines up with the D in DEI on the other side.

Thanks for your input,John.

[Bronze & Copper Collector 412]

Here is my specimen....

Peck mentions that all stops are sometimes weak or missing....

Bramah 17a notes "describable as having no stops but traces of the first colon are discoverable"

[Red Riley 2]

Here is my specimen....

Peck mentions that all stops are sometimes weak or missing....

Bramah 17a notes "describable as having no stops but traces of the first colon are discoverable"

If my recollection serves me correctly, all 'no colon' pennies still retain the vestiges of the colon even if it is only discoverable under a microscope and are presumably therefore simply the result of die wear. A moot point whether varieties created in this way should even be regarded as mainstream varieties at all.

On a lighter note, I always thought the description in The Coin Year Book; 'Rev no colon' sounded like a rather unfortunate vicar...

[Peckris 579]

If my recollection serves me correctly, all 'no colon' pennies still retain the vestiges of the colon even if it is only discoverable under a microscope and are presumably therefore simply the result of die wear. A moot point whether varieties created in this way should even be regarded as mainstream varieties at all.

It does seem rather strange that ALL colons should be equally invisible through die wear? This ought to mean that there are pennies in an almost infinite range of "colons present" through to "no colons present" via "one or two colons showing some to quite a lot of wear" & "a few colons completely missing and the rest worn" ... shouldn't there?

On a lighter note, I always thought the description in The Coin Year Book; 'Rev no colon' sounded like a rather unfortunate vicar...

[JOHN 0]

I used a cheap usb microscope at about 40x magnification to get these pictures.

A bit of a warning, don't do this to your own prized coins folks.

I thought that I had a nice coin in at least fine condition but now I find that I have a

travel weary scratched up, ready for the junk heap cull.

[Gary D 76]

Just a stupid question, but how does die wear account for missing colons, surely for a colon to be missed the dies must be filled with grease or something similar?

[Peckris 579]

Just a stupid question, but how does die wear account for missing colons, surely for a colon to be missed the dies must be filled with grease or something similar?

Yes, just the point I was making above. I.e., the sheer coincidence of ALL colons being worn, seems ... unlikely.