Victoria 1837-1901
Many of the Victoria obverses are very similar and it may prove tricky to distinguish between some obverses, particularly on worn specimens.
Beaded Border Obverses
Freeman/Dracott Obverse 1
Legend reads:
VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F:D:
Beaded border; the wreath has 14 leaves grouped 3,3,2,4 & 2 and 6 berries grouped in 3 pairs, a pair each at the base of the 2nd and 3rd groups of leaves and the additional pair (weakly struck) has one berry on each side of the central leaf in the fourth group; the topmost leaf in the second group protrudes above the head; only HONI S can be seen on the order of the garter; the linear circle sometimes terminates at the sides of the bust and sometimes continues below it on the left beyond the fabric rose.
This obverse was used in 1860 only
116 beads in border
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Freeman Obverse 1* (Dracott Reverse 1A)
Similar to obverse 1, but the forehead is slightly more rounded; the tie knot immediately above the bow has been completely removed; the topmost leaf in the second group does not protrude above the head; the back of her neck is slightly more curved.
Obverse 1 Obverse 1A
This obverse was used in 1860 only
116 beads in border
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Toothed Border Obverses
Freeman/Dracott Obverse 2
Similar to obverse 1 except that the front of the neck is more vertical; there are 7 berries in the wreath, grouped in 3 pairs – one each below the 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups of leaves and a single berry to the right of the central leaf in the 4th group, at its base; the linear circle is continuous beneath the bust; the veins of the leaves are all in relief; the colon dots are often flattened and oval-like.
This obverse was used in 1860 only
153 border teeth
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 3
Similar to obverse 2 except that the bridge of the nose is fractionally lower; there are only 5 berries, with the pair on obverse 2 below the 1st group of leaves now missing; there is an incuse border dividing the central and right hand leaves of the 1st group; there are 6 very distinct lines depicting hair between the right hand leaf of the lowest pair on the wreath and the base of the bun; the bodice folds below and on both sides of the fabric rose curve upwards to converge on it.
Obverse 2 Obverse 3
This obverse was used in 1860 & 1861
153 border teeth
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 4
Obverse 3 Obverse 4
Similar to obverse 3 but there are 15 leaves in the wreath with the extra leaf protruding from behind what was the upper leaf of the third group; there are only 4 berries, the single one previously near the base of the 4th group is now omitted; part of the letter “O” appears on the order of the garter after “HONI S”; the fabric rose now virtually touches the linear circle; the topmost leaf of the 1st group is higher than on obverses 4 and 6; the colons of F:D: are closer together and smaller but well-rounded (but this doesn’t seem true on the upper photograph).
This obverse was used in 1860 & 1861
153 border teeth
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Sub-variety of Obverse 4 – repaired B in BRITT
A probable botched repair of the B in BRITT has resulted in what is effectively E or F over B
This has been found on a halfpenny paired with reverse G.
See similar feature on obverse 6 below.
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 5
Similar to obverse 4 except that there are double incuse lines to depict the veins on 4 wreath leaves – the central ones of groups 2 & 4, and the 2 most prominent leaves of group 3; there are thick incuse lines on the hair, particularly noticeable in the area to the left of the bun; the colons and lettering are heavier; there is a flaw high on the queen’s forehead.
This obverse was used in 1860 & 1861
153 border teeth
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 6
Similar to obverse 5 except that the veins of 7 leaves now have double incuse lines, the 3 new ones being the lowest of the 2nd group and the leaves to the left and right of the central one in the 4th group; most of the “O” is visible on the Order of the Garter; there is no flaw on the forehead; her eye is set further back from the bridge of her nose than on obverse 4 and 5.
This obverse was used in 1860 & 1861
153 border teeth
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Sub-variety of Obverse 6 – repaired B in BRITT
A probable botched repair of the B in BRITT has resulted in what is effectively E (or F) over B.
This has been found on a halfpenny paired with reverse G.
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 7
A new obverse – the nose is slightly curved; the mouth curves down slightly; the eye is close to the bridge of the nose; there are 16 leaves in the wreath, the extra leaf being added to the 3rd group, protruding below the left hand leaf; all leaf veins are in relief; there are more and much finer individual strands of hair; the hair is more wavy.
Obverse 4 Obverse 7
This obverse was used from 1860 to 1874 inclusive
153 border teeth
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Sub-variety of obverse 7 – B over R
The B of BRITT appears to have been struck over an R (probably in a botched repair) – interestingly this feature is also found on a handful of 1862 pennies
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 8
Similar to obverse 4 with 15 leaves in the wreath and from a retouched die of that obverse; there is no “HONI S” to the right of the mantle – there are 2 parallel incuse lines; the leaves of the top group appear sharp and pointed; the rose and shamrock on the mantle are incusely outlined; the right hand half (all ?) of the truncation base is flattened so that it angles down to the field.
This obverse was used from 1873 to 1874 inclusive
153 border teeth
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 9
An older portrait of the queen; 16 leaves in the wreath but differently arranged; the top group is further from the colon after D:G:; there are 6 berries – a pair below the 2nd group of leaves, 3 below the 3rd group and 1 in the 4th group to the left of the tip of the rightmost leaf; the tie ribbons are distinctly crimped; there is no “O” in the Order of the Garter; the nape hair is much more clearly defined and in a style unique to this obverse.
This obverse was only used in 1874
133 border teeth
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 10
Similar to obverse 9 but definitely different in that the neck is thicker such that there is a distinctly smaller gap between it and the left tie ribbon; her forehead is straighter, the nose a little larger and the nostril longer; the nape hair has completely different curls.
Obverse 9 Obverse 10
Obverse 9 Obverse 10
133 border teeth
This obverse was only used in 1874 (at the Heaton mint)
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Sub-variety of obverse 10 – obverse10A
Dracott reports that “some obverse 10 halfpennies have thinner neck and more rounded features; they may have been weakly hubbed or re-cut in these areas; this variety may be referred to as obverse 10A.” In the pictures below, the obverse 10A has a gap between neck and bow similar to obverse 10 but a gap between neck and bend in the inner tie ribbon similar to obverse 11 (which has a wider gap between neck and bow).
Obv 10 Obv 10A
Note: this makes it even harder to distinguish between obverse 10 and 11 coins, especially in hand when the differences in the gap between the neck and the inner tie ribbon are already tricky to detect. It suggests that the key differentiator between obverses 10 and 11 is whether the hair overlaps the forehead as a ridge below the G of D:G: (see below – no overlap with obverse 10) – although, actually, I’m not convinced that this is always the case. I believe that I’ve seen examples of obverse 11 where there is no obvious ridge at the hairline !
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Sub-variety of obverse 10 – multiple leaves
Note: most of the leaves in the wreath have been double struck although no other features of the obverse have been affected
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 11
Similar to obverse 9, with the slender neck, and the outline distinctly curved between the nape hair and the left tie ribbon; the facial features are older and the mouth extends more deeply into the cheek, curving downwards; the silhouette of the forehead is no longer a continuous line up to the leaves as the hair outline is now slightly outside the line of the forehead; the legend characters are slightly thinner than obverse 10; the edges of many of the leaves in the wreath are now crinkled; the curls of the nape hair are different from 9 but similar to 10.
Obverse 9 Obverse 10 Obverse 11
Obverse 9 Obverse 10 Obverse 11
This obverse was used in 1874 & 1875
133 border teeth
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The Mysterious Obverse 12 – “Thicker or thinner ?”
Freeman Obverse 12 (Dracott Obverse 12A)
Freeman states “Similar to obverse 11 but the neck is thicker and straighter at the back (as on obverse 10); the mouth is deep and angled as obverse 11; the nose is shorter and more aquiline.”
Dracott states “almost as obverse 11 and often confused with it. Hair overlaps forehead again, but a more obvious hook to the Queen’s nose. Back a little straighter, with a wider gap between neck and ribbon than obv. 11. Nose is slightly shorter than last.”
A common factor in the description is the “hooked nose” but the descriptions of the neck (in bold italics) are in direct contradiction. Either the neck is thicker than obverse 11 (Freeman) or thinner than obverse 11 (Dracott) – Freeman and Dracott can’t be talking about the same obverse ! However, in fairness, Dracott does state that it could simply be a hubbing variation or a re-cut obverse 11, as the neck thickness varies.
Freeman records this obverse as a single instance, paired with reverse L on 1875 F322 – the only occurrence of either obverse 12 or reverse L that he records. I have included a picture of reverse L on this website from one of the 2 examples that I’ve seen, and it is genuinely as described by Freeman and sufficiently “unique” to be recorded as such. However, the two F322 obverses that I’ve seen are shown below and should therefore both be Freeman’s obverse 12 (but to me there is no doubt that they are both obverse 11). The right hand example has a small flaw on the right side of the I in BRITT which has been suggested is an indicator of obverse 12 but I can see absolutely no reason why this is not obverse 11.
The following picture (courtesy of Mal Lewendon) is an example of an obverse 12 from his own collection.
The inner tie ribbon does appear to be further away from the neck, as per Dracott’s description, and to me can reasonably be classified as obverse 12.
The picture below is of the obverse of a coin described as 1875 F321 (11+J) and sold by Colin Cooke as part of the Dr Basil Nicholson collection of Halfpennies (lot 442), but it appears to have a similar obverse with the wider gap between neck and ribbon as Mal Lewendon’s example.
Are the obverse 12 noses really more hooked ? (I don’t think so – in the hand, surely these all look identical)
Obverse 10 Obverse 11 Obverse 12 [Mal] Obverse 13
Freeman records the obverse only being used in 1875 but Dracott records usage in 1874 (both Heaton and Royal mints) and 1875
133 border teeth
Shock update !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have now obtained an 1874H halfpenny which seems to comply with Dracott’s description in terms of the distance between neck and tie ribbon, i.e. wider gap between neck and ribbon than obv. 11 (and shorter nose) – see below, and appears to be similar to Mal Lewendon’s example pictured above.
Obv 11 My Obv 12
This would appear to confirm Iain Dracott’s description of Obverse 12 but leaves Freeman’s description (the thicker neck) a mystery.
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Obverse observations
I also find it strange that a total of 8 new and different obverses (8, 9, 10, 10A, 11, 12 or 12A, 13 & 13#) are reported to have been introduced over a period of only 2 years (1874-75). Was the Mint really repeatedly redesigning the obverse with quite minor changes over this short period ? And for what purpose ?
There is a precedent for this with both pennies and halfpennies undergoing numerous redesigns in 1860 and 1861 as the mint worked to find a durable design of die that would tolerate many millions of strikes and also survive many years of circulatory wear. The penny, too, underwent several changes in 1874 when it was decided to “age” the queen’s portrait after nearly 40 years on the throne but, even then there were only 2 of these “older” portrait versions used during 1874 to 1878.
Although I believe that Dracott obverses 10, 10A, 11 and 12A are so similar that they could all be from the same master die with the minor differences resulting from the creation of working dies, I will leave it up to individual collectors to decide for themselves whether all these halfpenny obverses really exist as genuinely different varieties, especially as it is so difficult to distinguish between them, especially when viewing these coins in the hand. The differences between the obverses in terms of the relative distance between the queen’s neck and the bow and inner tie ribbon are miniscule and probably only detectable on the enlarged photographs below when comparing them side by side. And even then, photographs can be deceptive, varying with the angle and nature of lighting. It must be extremely hard to distinguish between these obverses when looking at an individual coin in isolation. This does appear to be the case because several coins in the date range 1874-75 appear to be wrongly attributed on auction websites.
Obv 10 |
Obv 10A |
Obv 11 |
ML Obv 12 |
My Obv 12 |
Added to that, the point where the top of the neck meets the tie knot seems to vary considerably – as in the obverse 11 close-up above, the coin on the left below has the top of the neck apparently ending halfway along the hair curl to the left of the bow. The right hand coin appears at first to be the same but there is a shadowy area that curls round to the top of the bow. In hand, the neck does indeed curve right round to the top of the bow.
The back of the neck seems to be one of the most weakly struck areas of this obverse range and leads to the difficulty distinguishing between the different obverses (if, indeed, they are different). In the photograph below (of a coin listed as obverse 10) the neckline is virtually invisible.
The images below demonstrate how difficult it is to differentiate between obverse types without the benefit of enlarged photographs
Obv 9 Obv 10 Obv 10A Obv 11 Obv 12 Obv 13
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 13
Similar to obverse 10 (with no overlap bulge where the hair meets the forehead), with thick neck* but some features more sharply defined; there are incuse lines on the hair above the wreath and outlining the the upper outlines of those leaves which extend upwards; the fabric rose is sharp and slightly smaller; the pair of berries on the lower side of the wreath after the 3rd group of leaves is uneven in size (the left one is small and indistinct); the berry over that pair has a long stalk; her lips are further forward.
* Note that Dracott reports that this obverse has been found with a thinner neck due to weak striking or hubbing.
Obverse 11/12 Obverse 13
This obverse was used from 1874 to 1877 inclusive
133 border teeth
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Unrecorded Obverse Dracott 13#
Picture courtesy of Mal Lewendon
Very similar to obverse 13 except that there are (one) fewer border teeth (132 rather than 133 on obverse 13) such that the alignment of legend characters to border teeth is slightly different; the second “I” in VICTORIA is tilted in a clockwise direction and points to a gap between teeth; the T’s in BRITT touch at the top; the fabric rose is incomplete
This obverse was discovered by Mal Lewendon and has only yet been found on a single coin dated 1875 and paired with reverse L.
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 14
Similar to obverse 13 but the neck is (slightly) thinner and more curved at the back; the eye is much closer to the bridge of the nose; the hair and leaf borders are in relief; the truncation base is no longer flattened and the mantle design extends to the bottom edge; the fabric rose is lower with its lower extremity missing; each berry in the pair below the 3rd group of leaves is equal in size, each with a distinct stalk; the leaves of the 1st group are more rounded, the lowest of them almost touching the lower colon dot after G; the B of BRITT almost touches her head; the hair at the nape has more numerous and thinner strands.
Obverse 13 Obverse 14 Obverse 13 Obverse 14
(the only obverse with) 152 border teeth
This obverse was used from 1876 to 1879 inclusive
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 15
very similar to obverse 14 but with 3 fewer border teeth; the bridge of the nose is lower, level with the lower part of the eye; the forehead, below the hair, bulges outwards from the hairline; the hair at the nape is shorter and thicker; the back is more rounded; the legend and colon dots are in high relief; there is a small bulge beneath her chin to denote the sag of the cheek.
Obverse 14 Obverse 15 Obverse 14 Obverse 15
Note: these are such minute differences that they may be undetectable in hand (the toothcount is probably the most reliable differentiator).
149 border teeth
This obverse was used from 1878 to 1881 inclusive and 1883
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Freeman Obverse 15* (Dracott Obverse 15A)
Similar to obverse 15 but with an extra leaf in the 2nd row – the lower edge of a 4th leaf is visible below the regular group of 3; the veins of the lower pair of leaves are double incuse lines; the forehead does not bulge out below the hairline; the eyeball is smaller; the legend and colon dots are in normal relief; a small low relief area occurs on the head below the B of BRITT – a point of identification on worn coins.
Obverse 15 Obverse 15*
149 border teeth
This obverse was used from 1879 to 1881 inclusive
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Freeman/Dracott Obverse 16
Similar to obverse 15 but (as on obverse 11/12) the line from the tip of the nose to the upper lip is straighter; the eye is set back further from the bridge of the nose; a slight dent occurs where the hair meets the forehead; the 1st pair of berries have stalks; some of the leaf veins and hair have been retouched with incuse lines – particularly noticeable is the topmost leaf of the 4th group with double incuse vein lines, and the berry next to it is smaller than before; the fabric rose touches the linear circle as before; the border teeth are slightly longer and narrower; the legend is in lower relief than obverse 15.
previous obverses obverse 16
149 border teeth
This obverse was used in 1881 at the Heaton Mint and 1883 at the Royal Mint
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Freeman Obverse 17 (Dracott Obverse 18)
Similar to obverse 16 but instead of the fabric rose at the neckline, there is a brooch consisting of 7 distinct stones – 6 oval gems encircling a larger oblong one; there is much less hair at the top of the forehead, which is straighter, as is the hair below the wreath; at the neck, to the right of the ear, there are 2 distinct curls hanging downwards; on the mantle, the thistle and shamrock are still clearly incusively defined but the rose has become more vague.
146 border teeth
This obverse was used in 1881 and from 1883 to 1894 inclusive
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Freeman Obverse 18 (Not referenced by Dracott)
Very similar to obverse 16 but the hair to the left of the ear and overlapping it is less wavy such that its closest point to the eye is slightly further away; the hair which is carried down from the brow is also straighter (and more continuous). This difference is very slight and probably only noticeable when the 2 obverses are compared side by side. This rare obverse is only found on Bronze proofs 1882H F346 and 1883 F350.
Obverse 16 Obverse 18
149 border teeth
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Freeman Obverse 19 (Dracott Obverse 17)
Very similar to obverse 17 except that the brooch at the neckline has been replaced with the fabric rose, as on earlier varieties; the border teeth are shorter (there are 4 more than obverse 17); the colon dots are slightly smaller than on obverse 17.
150 border teeth
This obverse was only used on 1882H F347 & 1883 F351.
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The Old Head (1895-1901)
Obverse 1
Legend reads:
VICTORIA•DEI•GRA•BRITT•REGINA•FID•DEF•IND•IMP•