Crown of William III forgery

This coin came in from Jawaad Ahmed, who described it was a silver crown of William III. I was very pleased to see the images of it, for I had never seen such a large coin of William III as a detecting find. However, after studying them more closely the images the coin started to look too good to be true.

The dies are well executed but not quite up to the standard of the 1690s. For example, the face of King Willian just isn’t right. On the reverse the shape of the shields is as on crown pieces of 1700, not 1696. And, the shape of the harp in the Irish shield is correct for 1700 but not for 1696. Interestingly, I traced a William III crown piece on the internet, apparently struck from the same dies as the one pictured here but the date on the reverse was 1700.

I emailed Jawaad and asked if the coin was a detecting find or a recent purchase. He replied, saying it was a recent purchase from a reputable collector.

Over recent years I have seen a number of highly deceptive forgeries. They include crown pieces of George II and Victoria, halfcrowns of 1841 and 1848 and a shilling of 1850. Additionally, I’ve seen crown-sized fakes of United States and Russian coins. Where these are being made and how they are being made I have no idea. What I can definitely say is that some of them are highly deceptive and good enough to fool even experienced numismatists. Therefore, take care when buying coins and always insist on a guarantee of authenticity.

Valuation Service

If you would like your coin identified or valued, please read about my valuation service and contact me