Varieties of 1702 VIGO Shillings

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Plus00Vltra
Plus00Vltra Posts: 126 ✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum

I recently sent these two 1702 VIGO Shillings to a new home. Spink's British numismatic guidebook mentions two varieties, one the standard VIGO issue and another listed as ":ANNA"

I wondered that the former might be the standard issue and latter might be the :ANNA variant, save for the fact that I have never seen :ANNA and this coin clearly shows ·ANNA instead.
May I ask the audience of Great Britain experts here if there is a journal article or book where I might dig a little deeper? Is this potentially a third variety? Is that even a stop in front of the A? Does the :ANNA variety exist?
I noticed several unstudied die varieties across the VIGO series (differences in harp string number, spacing of letters and numbers, die-cutting slip ups...) and hoped someone else might have studied these.
Thank you in advance for any light you all can shed on the matter.

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  • Plus00Vltra
    Plus00Vltra Posts: 126 ✭✭✭
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    TTT
    I will give this one more shot. Any help?

  • bosox
    bosox Posts: 1,656 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 21, 2025 3:59PM
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    I don't have the answer to your question, but here is mine for comparison.

    https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/world-coins/great-britain-anne-6-pence-1703-au55-pcgs-/a/3064-33022.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

    Numismatic author & owner of the Uncommon Cents collections. 2011 and 2025 Fred Bowman Literary Award, 2025 Guy Potter Literary Award, 2022 Paul Fiocca Award, & 2020 J. Douglas Ferguson Award.

    http://www.victoriancent.com
  • Plus00Vltra
    Plus00Vltra Posts: 126 ✭✭✭
    edited July 21, 2025 4:54PM
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    Thanks for the comment @bosox.
    The 1703 sixpence also shows a couple of obvious varieties that I am unaware if any scholarship is dedicated to. Yours has a harp representing Ireland with "four and a half" strings, while other varieties exists with four and five.
    Four:

    Four and a Half (second longest string extends from the top of the harp downward and disappears before the point of insertion):

    Five (an additional shortest string):

    Sorry for the large pictures I picked up from PCGS TV, but the harp strings would be difficult to see otherwise. Might help to open in a new window and expand. But it is also quite possible that there is not enough interest in the series to bother with.

    Edited to fix grammar...

  • SimonW
    SimonW Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I need to get me one of those Vigos eventually, It'll fit two sets, my "One Per Monarch" set of english coins and my set "Coins with Stories."

    I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.

  • BustDMs
    BustDMs Posts: 1,706 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    3 different obverses?

    A great study begins with a dedicated collector with a question……..

    Q: When does a collector become a numismatist?



    A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.



    A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
  • Plus00Vltra
    Plus00Vltra Posts: 126 ✭✭✭
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    @BustDMs said:
    3 different obverses?

    A great study begins with a dedicated collector with a question……..

    Good eye. The obverses of the 1703 sixpence coins ARE different, most notable at the A in GRATIA.
    From top to bottom in the images above, the varieties are best described as:
    Doubled A (A/A)
    Distant A (far and high)
    Close A (almost touches the bust and low)

    Figured I would garner more (if any) interest in the reverses. I suppose now you will all line up to buy my future treatise on varieties and die marriages encountered in VIGO coinage, both volumes, bound in leather, and signed by the author?

  • BustDMs
    BustDMs Posts: 1,706 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    @Plus00Vltra said:

    @BustDMs said:
    3 different obverses?

    A great study begins with a dedicated collector with a question……..

    Good eye. The obverses of the 1703 sixpence coins ARE different, most notable at the A in GRATIA.
    From top to bottom in the images above, the varieties are best described as:
    Doubled A (A/A)
    Distant A (far and high)
    Close A (almost touches the bust and low)

    Figured I would garner more (if any) interest in the reverses. I suppose now you will all line up to buy my future treatise on varieties and die marriages encountered in VIGO coinage, both volumes, bound in leather, and signed by the author?

    Yes, I would be VERY interested in a set of unicorn leather books with your X on the title page.

    Q: When does a collector become a numismatist?



    A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.



    A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
  • SimonW
    SimonW Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 22, 2025 3:24PM
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    I'll get in on the Unicorn bound volume, I may even consider Dodo or Tasmanian Wolf.

    I'm BACK!!! Used to be Billet7 on the old forum.

  • coinkat
    coinkat Posts: 24,542 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I have yet to take a deep enough dive into this series to offer any helpful information in terms of varieties

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

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