Gold. Bust, undraped, laureated; reverse, royal arms in an ornamented shield, crowned.
Copper. Halfpence and Farthings. Bust as before, laureated and in armour, GEORGIVS II REX.; reverse, figure of Britannia, BRITANNIA, date in exergue. Irish Halfpence and Farthings, same bust, undraped; reverse, Irish harp, crowned, HIBERNIA, and date.
GEORGE III. (1760 to 1820.)
Denominations.—Silver. Crown, Half-crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence, Penny. Gold. Guinea (21s.), Half-guinea (10s. 6d.), Third-of-guinea or Seven-shilling-piece (7s.), Quarter-of-guinea (5s. 3d.), Sovereign (20s.), Half-sovereign (10s.). Copper. Twopence, Penny, Halfpenny, Farthing.
Obverse.—Type. Early issues: dexter bust profile of king, in armour, laureated, hair long; on his later coinage, bust undraped, laureated, hair short.
Legend. Early: GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA. Late: GEOR. (or GEORGIVS) III. D. G. BRITT. (or BRITANNIARVM) REX. F. D. (or FID. DEF.), etc. Later coinage has the date beneath the head.
Reverse.—Type. Early coinage: Four crowned or uncrowned shields in cross, as on coins of George I. and II.; the crowns in those instances where they do not surmount the shields, being placed in the angles between them. Later coinage: Crown, St. George and the Dragon within the mottoed garter, Half-crown, crowned shield of royal arms, within the garter, on which is the motto, HONI SOIT, etc.; quarterly, 1 and 4, England, 2, Scotland, 3, Ireland, Brunswick, etc., on an escutcheon surmounted by the electorate crown; the shield crowned; on another, round the garter, is the collar and badge of the order. Shillings, royal shield encircled by the garter, no legend; Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence, and Penny, values, either IIII. III. II. I., or in figures; one mintage, called wire-money, has the value in writing figures, all the lines of the same strength.
Legend. Early: M. B. F. ET. H. REX. F. D. B. ET. L. D. S. R. I. A. T. ET. E. and date. Late: BRITANNIARVM REX FID DEF or FIDEI DEFENSOR.
During great scarcity of silver money in 1797 Spanish dollars and half-dollars were countermarked with a small punch of the king’s head and put into circulation as current coin of the value of 4s. 9d. This stamp having been counterfeited to a considerable extent, a different one was adopted in 1804, but it in turn being much counterfeited, the whole dollar was re-stamped with a fresh octagonal device, the king’s head, etc., on the obverse, and on the reverse a figure of Britannia within an oval, crowned with a mural crown, and having the words BANK OF ENGLAND FIVE SHILLINGS DOLLAR, 1804. Bank of England tokens, value Six-shillings, Three-shillings, and other amounts, were also issued. Of these, and the Irish and Madras and other issues, I must forego particulars.
Gold. Obverse, bust laureated; reverse, Guinea, and Half-guinea, royal arms in a “spade ace” shield, crowned; Sovereign, George and Dragon within the garter; Half-sovereign, royal shield; Seven-shillings, a crown.