fake shilling

[Guest tooley1]

i have got two fake (i presume ) shillings, the first is a 1819 shilling which is copper coloured and is the correct size and weight, the second is an 1817 shilling which seems too light ( weight )and is a silvery colour . This has errors as well with the bar of the H in Honi missing and the BRITT having the B as an R . Anyone give me any info on these and are they worth anything ?e-mail me at tooley1'ntlworld.com -- many thanks

[Chris Perkins 228]

They sound like fakes to me. George III fakes are very common, I have a whole type set! They are collectable, and no doubt there are some rarer varieties, but it is a shady area that needs more research.

[Guest tooley1]

They sound like fakes to me. George III fakes are very common, I have a whole type set! They are collectable, and no doubt there are some rarer varieties, but it is a shady area that needs more research.

what is the best way to research these fakes as i can not find any useful info on web

[Chris Perkins 228]

I wish I knew!

There must be books about them, or perhaps even a website. I think the problem is that many people regard fakes as less important than the real thing (when numismatically they are just as important as the real thing in my opinion).

Strictly speaking, they are still illegal to own (although you would probably never get prosecuted unless you were trying to sell them as original) so it's something that perhaps people are a little afraid of confessing to!

I had one chap email me once who had collected over 30 different fake modern £1 coins out of circulation. When I asked if I could write something about them on the website, he declined, didn't give his name and I never heard from him again.

Perhaps someone else will know....

Are there any books or websites specifically on fake British coins, particularly those of Geroge III?

[Geoff T 3]

Strictly speaking, they are still illegal to own (although you would probably never get prosecuted unless you were trying to sell them as original) so it's something that perhaps people are a little afraid of confessing to!

I have a feeling - and correct me if I'm wrong - that's it's only illegal to own fake coins if they're still legal tender, which an 1819 shilling would not be as of 1990 when the old shilling-sized 5p was replaced with the smaller one now in use. Up till then all post-1816 shillings would have been legal tender at a face value of 5p.

[Chris Perkins 228]

It's a funny subject Geoff, I think i read in Coin News that it technically was illegal to have them, no matter how old.