Victoria Copper Issue (1838 - 60)

This page was last updated on: April 24, 2024 10:16 AM

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Enter the world of varieties, some researched and some unresearched. Quite apart from colon, full stop and unbarred A varieties (as yet all waiting for analysis), you may want to check your collections to see if you have unwittingly already got some of these : 1839 and 1840 2 Prongs to trident, 1842 Large 42, 1843 Roman I, 1843/2, 1845 Large Date, 1847 Proof, 1850 5/3 or 5/4, 1851 D/sideways D, 1851 Roman I, 1852 2/2, 1853/2, 1856 E/R, 1858 SD, 1858 1/1. And someone might discover 1848 or 1849 or 1854 with obverse 2 (head close to lettering), which may be still waiting to be discovered.

Picture	Date	DESCRIPTION	Price

Note on 1858:

The Large Date is commonest. The vertical stroke of the 5 is often missing, making it seem like 1838 but the portraits are different and 1838 is W.W. raised whereas 1858 is WW incuse, which should help identification. There are a number of different dies used for the Large Date variety.

The Small Date really is very rare and is an important Peck "miss". The first we saw was in 1972 in the Dr Johnstone collection but he had only acquired it after Peck's book was written. We have seen about 20 specimens in total, over the last 27 years but only two in high grade. A detailed description of this variety appeared on our List 35. Both varieties were photographed on our List 36. Added feature : The Small Date type always has just the last 8 out of alignment, being significantly higher than the other three digits. This is clearly visible in the photograph below and it has never yet been seen on any Large Date 1858. Therefore, this feature can be used to distinguish SD from LD with absolute certainty.

Picture	Date	DESCRIPTION	Price
	1854	BMC 1580. S3950. GVF	£15.00
	1853	WW Incuse (Rare). BMC 1578. S3950. GVF, rare	£50.00
	1853	WW Incuse (Rare). BMC 1578. S3950. Near EF, slightly thicker rim, rare	£80.00
	1846	From a small hoard of around 80 coins, these 1846 are all Almost Uncirculated and exhibit some original colour but they all have patchy toning. The appearance is of having been in the back of a fire grate or chimney at some time. They were found recently in Plymouth. For a rare date to turn up as a small hoard like this is indeed a rare event. They come in two varieties: a) with a small, neat 4 in the date and b) with a much larger 4, the result of the 4 being re-cut over a higher 4.	£45.00

Note on 1845:

Both Large Date and Small date exist. The Large Date type is extremely rare.

For the Small Date, there are two minor varieties:

Type A: 8 of date is upright. Scarcer.

Type B: 8 of date is tilted to the left. Commoner.

In addition, it is worth noting that there are THREE different sizes of the 1845 date. One is huge and extremely rare, the 4 being higher than the other numbers. The normal size is small, only half the size of the Large Date and the same size as in 1844. The other is a very tiny bit larger than the "small date" but not really big enough to be called "medium". This "near medium" size needs further study in relation to Types A and B above. For the moment, this "near medium" size is included under "Small Date".

Picture	Date	DESCRIPTION	Price
	1841	Near VF	£12.00
	1841	GVF	£20.00
	1839	2 Prongs to Trident. Fine	£10.00

Victoria Copper Issue (1838 - 60)

Note on 1858:

Note on 1845:

For the Small Date, there are two minor varieties:

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