Expert: Brad Swain - 11/1/2009

Question
I have a British coin, badly worn, copper or bronze, quarter sized.  It has a bust of George III on the obverse, looking right.  His name appears to be spelled Georiuvs.  Now the tops of the letters have worn away, but there's no way I can get a G after the Geor. To the right of the bust are III and what appears to be VIS.  The reverse is worn even more.  There is someone seated, looking left and holding an object in an outstretched hand.  The object is not clear enough to determine what it is.  There appear to be 5 letters on the left edge.  The first looks like a B, the rest could all be mistaken for I's (the tops of the letters are worn away).  The right and bottom edges don't look like they ever had anything engraved, as they are uniformly smooth.  No date is evident on either side.  There is no visible writing on the coins edge  either.  The most confusing part is the VIS on the front.  I haven't found any reference to these letters on British coins.

Answer
Hi Kevin, it is probably a worn British farthing of King George III (1760-1820) dated 1771, 1773, 1774 or 1775.
The wording on the king side is GEORGIVS III REX. On the other side is a seated allegorical figure of Britannia on a rock with a trident and shield and holding an olive branch which symbolizes Britain's mastery of the seas and worldwide empire. The lettering on that side has BRITAN NIA with the date at the bottom under the figure.
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad