Crowns and Sovereigns

[RHM22]

Just an odd question that I thought of. Back in the Victorian days, did anyone ever gild a Crown and pass it as a Sovereign? I'm not sure about the size difference, but the design seems identical.

[Splock]

There's a huge difference in size so I doubt anyone would have tried it  Crowns are approximately 38mm and weighing in around 28g. The Sovereign is significantly thinner, around 22mm (same as the modern Pound Coin, which is no coincidence) and weighing in at just under 7g.

[Figleaf]

Wasn't there a case once in the US, where a 5 cent was gilded and spent as a gold coin and the culprit was let off because he never claimed it was a gold coin?

Peter

[RHM22]

Yes, those are the 1883 no-cent V nickels. An article was published recently in the Numismatist.

[andyg]

The 1887 shield design sixpence was easily confused with a half sovereign, so much so that it was withdrawn.

[Austrokiwi]

The 1887 shield design sixpence was easily confused with a half sovereign, so much so that it was withdrawn.

Just to add to that the withdrawal was necessary as less than honest "entrepreneurs would gold plate the sixpence and pass it off as a half sovereign.

[translateltd]

Just an odd question that I thought of. Back in the Victorian days, did anyone ever gild a Crown and pass it as a Sovereign? I'm not sure about the size difference, but the design seems identical.

The gold £5 is much closer in size to a silver crown, but I doubt the gold coin would have circulated much, if at all.