Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Coin Identification

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Expert: - 3/22/2010


Question

Front
Could you please give me as much information as possible on a coin that has 'GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA' written on one side with a males face with long hair tied in a bow. On the other side it has 'V.C.R.ET.CO.DG.L.T.REX.FD.BI.R.M' written around the edge of it with the date 1790 on it. The image on this side is of a shield with a crown on the top. Any information would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Joe,,
The item you have is made in the style of a British trade "guinea", depicting king George III. The genuine coins are made of high purity gold, but this appears to be one of the many novelty tokens made with this design.
The good news is that it appears to be an antique copy, often known as a "game counter". They were used as early poker chips, basically, by the general public that could not afford to get their hands on the actual gold coins.
They show up on eBay regularly and usually go for a couple dollars for a typical one. There are some higher quality examples that do up to $10.
Thanks for the question! =)

Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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