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Great Britain: silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
lordmarcovan
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Great Britain: silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
Obverse: First bust of George I right.
Reverse: British arms in four crowned shields, SS / C in angles.
KM 539.3, .925 silver/.1790 oz. 6.02 g. PCGS MS63+, cert #29851549. (Previously in an NGC MS64 holder, #2783369-010.) Ex-Mobile Bay Coins, LLC (via eBay "wildwoodcollectibles" account), 8/3/2013.
The German-born King George the First of Great Britain supposedly didn't speak a word of English when he founded the Hanoverian Dynasty and became the first of a long line of British King Georges. I find this interestingly ironic, considering the later Germanophobia which caused George V of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to change that dynasty's name to the present "House of Windsor" during World War One.
The "SS" and "C" notations in the angles between the arms on the reverse of this coin indicate it was struck in silver from the South Sea Company, a British joint-stock trading concern established in 1711. This company peaked in 1720, then crashed shortly thereafter in the “South Sea Bubble”, bringing disgrace and financial ruin to many investors, as a result of insider trading. (Sound familiar? History does indeed repeat itself. The centuries march on, but people remain all too human.) After subsequent parliamentary inquiry and legislation, the company continued to do business for more than a century after the Bubble burst.
I've always liked this issue, because it comes from such an interesting period. Just north of where I live in Georgia, the British established Fort King George in 1721, near Darien. The city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia hadn’t even been founded yet. And this coin was struck only a few years after Blackbeard the pirate met his end. About twenty years ago, I had an opportunity to buy one of these. It was an EF with some luster, and a very nice piece. The price seemed very reasonable, too, but it was 80 bucks, and that was a lot of money for me in those very lean times. I later wished I'd scratched up the money somehow. But I never imagined that when I finally did acquire a coin of this type, it would be an even nicer Mint State example.
Miscellaneous links:
PCGS cert verification page (w/TrueView image link)
NGC/Krause priceguide trends
Older image of this coin (when it was in the NGC MS64 holder)
Previous NGC cert verification page
Wikipedia links:
George I of Great Britain
House of Hanover
South Sea Company
Shilling (British coin) (history from 1706-1816)
When posted here, this coin was part of my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection.
Obverse: First bust of George I right.
Reverse: British arms in four crowned shields, SS / C in angles.
KM 539.3, .925 silver/.1790 oz. 6.02 g. PCGS MS63+, cert #29851549. (Previously in an NGC MS64 holder, #2783369-010.) Ex-Mobile Bay Coins, LLC (via eBay "wildwoodcollectibles" account), 8/3/2013.
The German-born King George the First of Great Britain supposedly didn't speak a word of English when he founded the Hanoverian Dynasty and became the first of a long line of British King Georges. I find this interestingly ironic, considering the later Germanophobia which caused George V of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to change that dynasty's name to the present "House of Windsor" during World War One.
The "SS" and "C" notations in the angles between the arms on the reverse of this coin indicate it was struck in silver from the South Sea Company, a British joint-stock trading concern established in 1711. This company peaked in 1720, then crashed shortly thereafter in the “South Sea Bubble”, bringing disgrace and financial ruin to many investors, as a result of insider trading. (Sound familiar? History does indeed repeat itself. The centuries march on, but people remain all too human.) After subsequent parliamentary inquiry and legislation, the company continued to do business for more than a century after the Bubble burst.
I've always liked this issue, because it comes from such an interesting period. Just north of where I live in Georgia, the British established Fort King George in 1721, near Darien. The city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia hadn’t even been founded yet. And this coin was struck only a few years after Blackbeard the pirate met his end. About twenty years ago, I had an opportunity to buy one of these. It was an EF with some luster, and a very nice piece. The price seemed very reasonable, too, but it was 80 bucks, and that was a lot of money for me in those very lean times. I later wished I'd scratched up the money somehow. But I never imagined that when I finally did acquire a coin of this type, it would be an even nicer Mint State example.
Miscellaneous links:
PCGS cert verification page (w/TrueView image link)
NGC/Krause priceguide trends
Older image of this coin (when it was in the NGC MS64 holder)
Previous NGC cert verification page
Wikipedia links:
George I of Great Britain
House of Hanover
South Sea Company
Shilling (British coin) (history from 1706-1816)
When posted here, this coin was part of my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection.
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Also like how much time you put to explain and elaborate on this one.
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The English also crossed the channel to rule in Germany.
Victoria, as a woman, could not inherit the Kingdom of Hanover. Her uncle, Ernest Augustus (fifth son of George III) became king there.
Victoria's second son, Alfred, became the reigning duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Through her daughters, Victoria was the grandmother of Wilhelm II, German emperor and Ernest Louis reigning grand duke of Hesse.
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