Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 12/30/2010

Question
Dear Sir,

I have recently cleaned up a rather muddled coin from my collection.  I cannot recall where I acquired it, and I cannot seem to identify it. It is bronze. The only features of the coin that I can make out with certainty are that there is the image of a head (presumably a man) on the front.  He appears to wear laurels on his head, as would Caesar.  On the left side, along the edge, is the name Gulielmus.  It is, however, in Latin, as in: GVLIELMVS.  On the right side, it is more muddled, but the letters …ATIA can be made out.  The back is too lost and muddled for anything to be made out clearly.  I have done some research myself, and the first thought that I had was that it was an 1830’s British Penny, with Gulielmus, King William the fourth, on it and DEI GRATIA on the right side. However, I am suspicious that this is truly it, for I have compared the front of the coin with images of the aforementioned British Penny, and, chiefly, the bust/head of my coin does not resemble the one in the pictures, mainly because the one I possess has laurels, and the other has them not.  Also, I am suspicious because of the Latin spellings of Gulielmus (GVLIELMVS) on my coin versus the normal spelling of it (Gulielmus).  Could this be a variation minted for some part of British Empire or would you say that this is a completely different William? (Please excuse my ignorance). Also, faintly although distinctly, there appears the visage of another head behind the main head/bust on my coin. It is obscured by the laurelled head, as though it was overlapped, though not in a flush manner.  The only explanation that I have for this is that it was re-stamped at some point, and I hoped that you could shed some light onto this as well.

Many Thanks.

Answer
Hi Derek,
The William in question is William III. You have a "William and Mary" halfpenny, dated 1694 (the only year). The Latin spelling is normal and was used even on 20th century coins (GEORGIVS for George). The coin is fairly common in rough shape and it does not really have monetary value in the condition described, but at least the mystery is solved.
Thanks for the question! =)