Unrecorded 1858 (Obverse 1; reverse A) – Large Rose
This unrecorded variety has obverse 1 (W.W. incuse on the truncation) and reverse A (colon after REG & ornamental trident) but has a re-engraved larger rose in the emblem below Britannia.
normal rose large rose
This scarce variety occurs with both date size types of Obverse 1 (large date and small date figures) but appears to be genuinely rare with the smaller date figures. The 2 types of date size are best differentiated by the obvious difference in the shape of the figure 5.
Large Date (wider 5 with a pointed top) |
Small date (narrower 5 with a bulbous top) |
The 2 date size varieties are often confused on auction sites with many large dates being wrongly described as small dates.
Only the Large Rose varieties with the small date are listed below. Other distinguishing features of the small date variety appear to be a die crack running through the 5 on the obverse and a small die flaw/clash to the left of Britannia’s right arm on the reverse.
The colon dots after FID and DEF are closer to the D and F and further apart respectively on the small date variety
small date – colon dots closer to DEF and wider apart |
large date – colon dots further from DEF and closer together |
The distinctive closeness and position of the colon dots after DEF are often a more reliable means of differentiating between the large and small dates.
Example 1
Held in a private collection
Example 2
Sold by London Coins in June 2012 (for £702)
Example 3
Picture courtesy of Ian Fall
Example 4
Pictures courtesy of “martinminerva”
Example 5
Currently lost in the post !
Example 6
Sold by Baldwin’s in July 2022 (for £2111.20)
Example 7
For sale by Baldwin’s in February 2023
Example 8
Pictures courtesy of Ian Fall
Example 9
Pictures courtesy of Mike Hopkins
Example 10
Sold by Spink (Hong Kong) in January 2023