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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

Edited by wasswasp

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

The 8 is cut over a 7 either because the 7 is a mistake, or in the case of successive years as here, usually because the die was not worn out at the date changeover and so used on the grounds of economics. Additionally, sometimes the underlying year had dies produced but not used. Rather than throw the dies away they were cut with the new date or initial mark to ensure they were compliant with other dies and put to use.

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

It means that the last numeral in the date has been re-cut or re-stamped over the other numeral. In the 2 examples you gave the 8 will have been re-cut over a 7.

This was done to use up old dies from the year before (or in some cases 2 years before).

Some overdates are very clear as there was little effort put in to erasing the original numeral, others are very feint and difficult to determine.

Other overdates such as the 1861 Pennies with the 8over6 occured by error with the wrong numeral punch being used to strengthen the weak numeral.

Michael Gouby has some close up pictures on his site of some overdates www.michael-coins.co.uk.

hope this helps.

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

The 8 is cut over a 7 either because the 7 is a mistake, or in the case of successive years as here, usually because the die was not worn out at the date changeover and so used on the grounds of economics. Additionally, sometimes the underlying year had dies produced but not used. Rather than throw the dies away they were cut with the new date or initial mark to ensure they were compliant with other dies and put to use.

Hi so are there two of that type (1888 1888/7) ? and if so how do i tell the difference . thanks

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

It means that the last numeral in the date has been re-cut or re-stamped over the other numeral. In the 2 examples you gave the 8 will have been re-cut over a 7.

This was done to use up old dies from the year before (or in some cases 2 years before).

Some overdates are very clear as there was little effort put in to erasing the original numeral, others are very feint and difficult to determine.

Other overdates such as the 1861 Pennies with the 8over6 occured by error with the wrong numeral punch being used to strengthen the weak numeral.

Michael Gouby has some close up pictures on his site of some overdates www.michael-coins.co.uk.

hope this helps.

Yes it helps a lot thank you

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

The 8 is cut over a 7 either because the 7 is a mistake, or in the case of successive years as here, usually because the die was not worn out at the date changeover and so used on the grounds of economics. Additionally, sometimes the underlying year had dies produced but not used. Rather than throw the dies away they were cut with the new date or initial mark to ensure they were compliant with other dies and put to use.

Hi so are there two of that type (1888 1888/7) ? and if so how do i tell the difference . thanks

You've chosen a funny one there, because all 1888 shillings are actually 1888/7.

If you have an 1888 shilling, get yourself a cheap 30x jewellers loupe, and have a close look under good light. That'll show you what you're looking for - a clear overdate, if the grade is high enough.

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

The 8 is cut over a 7 either because the 7 is a mistake, or in the case of successive years as here, usually because the die was not worn out at the date changeover and so used on the grounds of economics. Additionally, sometimes the underlying year had dies produced but not used. Rather than throw the dies away they were cut with the new date or initial mark to ensure they were compliant with other dies and put to use.

Hi so are there two of that type (1888 1888/7) ? and if so how do i tell the difference . thanks

You've chosen a funny one there, because all 1888 shillings are actually 1888/7.

If you have an 1888 shilling, get yourself a cheap 30x jewellers loupe, and have a close look under good light. That'll show you what you're looking for - a clear overdate, if the grade is high enough.

thank you, that's one more thing ticked off my long list of questions

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Here's an example of an overdate. Its my 1848/7 Penny, in fact most of the date has been redone

post-5057-094778900 1304851498_thumb.jpg

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Here's an example of an overdate. Its my 1848/7 Penny, in fact most of the date has been redone

Thanks i see what you mean

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It's not always numbers and dates either. Several recognised varieties exist for the 1887 withdrawn sixpence, like this R/I

1887Sixpence2Arcloseup.jpg

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Hi what does it mean when they put 1888/7 shilling or 1848/7 penny thanks

The 8 is cut over a 7 either because the 7 is a mistake, or in the case of successive years as here, usually because the die was not worn out at the date changeover and so used on the grounds of economics. Additionally, sometimes the underlying year had dies produced but not used. Rather than throw the dies away they were cut with the new date or initial mark to ensure they were compliant with other dies and put to use.

Hi so are there two of that type (1888 1888/7) ? and if so how do i tell the difference . thanks

You've chosen a funny one there, because all 1888 shillings are actually 1888/7.

If you have an 1888 shilling, get yourself a cheap 30x jewellers loupe, and have a close look under good light. That'll show you what you're looking for - a clear overdate, if the grade is high enough.

Not all 1888s are over 7. The straight 1888 is considerably scarcer, but does exist and is not rare as such. If I can dig both of them out I'll post a comparison as the 8/7 is quite obvious, consequently the straight 8 is equally obvious in the hand.

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Well would you believe it! Just when I thought I had my Jubilee Head varieties list up to scratch. Better go back through some archived photos and make sure I haven't sold one unknowingly. Then I'd better find one...

thanks for that Rob - new knowledge every day!

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Found it hiding in the for sale trays. 8 over 7 on the left clearly seen as a straight line above the top of the 8. Not over 7 obviously just an 8.

post-381-068119900 1305208135_thumb.jpg

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Do bear in mind that some overstruck dates are quite obvious (that 1888/7 for example), others are obvious only when you know, or in higher grades (1865/3 penny) while some are almost invisible and need very high magnifications at reasonable grade, in order to see. There's no clear-cut rule, if you'll forgive the pun.

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