Edward VII trial shilling, 1905

RMM 230

United Kingdom

Edward VII

coin
trial

shilling

1905

uncrowned portrait of Edward VII to right
inscription: EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX

Royal Crest of England
inscription: FID: DEF: IND: IMP:
ONE SHILLING
1905

De Saulles, George William Biography

De Saulles, George William Biography

plain

360

Tower Hill

bronze

8.31g

Raised S on obverse and raised, inverted S on reverse. 'Experimental piece for wear' written on contemporary ticket.

Containing as it does many trial and experimental pieces, the contents of the Royal Mint Museum cannot always be taken for granted. Coins that appear the same may have slightly different compositions and there will invariably be a story behind the difference. The Edward VII trial shilling, dated 1905, shown here is a slightly more obvious imposter, made as it is from a copper-based alloy, being much thicker and heavier than a standard shilling and having a plain edge. To these rather obvious points of difference can be added the S shapes sunk into the dies that struck the coin and appearing as raised features on the obverse and reverse. The question, then, is why the coin was made. There is no contemporary Museum accessions register to help us and the Royal Mint’s Annual Report is silent on the matter. Rather helpfully, however, a ticket associated with the coin from the time has survived and indicates that its existence relates to experiments being conducted into wear. The technically less than perfect nature of De Saulles’ portrait of Edward VII may provide us with a further clue but there, unfortunately, the trail runs cold – at least for the time being.