1909 F169 (Gouby C+e; Freeman 2+E) (R17?)
Note: this rare variety of 1909 penny has the date figure 1 directly over a border tooth whereas the more common variety F168 (with reverse Gouby d/Freeman D) has the 1 to the left of a tooth.
Freeman’s 1985 edition of “The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain” allocates a rarity of R9 to this variety but its limited appearance on the coin market leads me and other collectors to suggest that a rarity of R17 (16-50 specimens) may be more accurate.
Unusually, there appears to be no high grade specimens of his variety recorded and almost all surviving specimens are in a very similar condition through normal circulation, making it quite difficult to distinguish between individual examples !
Example 1
Sold in June 2006 by PC Coins
Example 2
Sold in November 2010 by Colin Cooke as part of the James Workman collection
Example 3
Sold in March 2013 by London Coins
Re-sold in March 2016 by London Coins as part of the Elstree Collection
Re-sold by London Coins in June 2021 (for £877)
Example 4
Sold in September 2013 by London Coins
Example 5
Sold in June 2014 by London Coins
Example 6
Sold in June 2015 by London Coins
Example 7
Sold in June 2016 by London Coins
Re-offered by London Coins in December 2021
Example 8
Sold by London Coins in June 2018
Example 9
Offered for sale by London Coins in December 2018
Example 10
Pictures courtesy of Terry Eagleton
Example 11
Sold by Baldwin’s of St James in June 2019
Example 12
Sold by Dix, Noonan & Webb in June 2019
Example 13
Picture courtesy of Gary Schindler
Example 14
Sold by London Coins in September 2019 (for £187-20)
Sold by London Coins in September 2021 (for £514-80)
Example 15
Sold by Dix, Noonan & Webb in September 2019 (part lot 1867)
Example 16
Pictures courtesy of Steven Clegg
Example 17
Sold on Ebay in February 2021
Example 18
Unsold by London Coins in March 2022
Example 19
Posted on the Predecimal Forum in June 2022
Example 20
Unsold by London Coins in September 2023
Example 21
Held in a private collection