1887 gold plated silver crown

[Peacemaker]

I have become the recipient of a beautiful 1887 silver crown which has been gold plated, there is no wear at all apart from a small scratch i assume was made to test gold or see if it was silver beneath, done my test, it is silver, weighs 28.3g, 39mm diameter and diamagnetic properties, anybody have a ball park value on this? Cheers

[Jester]

Not sure if this is applicable here but I was just reading an interesting article about the 1887 coinage and how unscrupulous citizens would gold plate (or gold paint) the cheaper coin, in this case the Crown, and attempt to pass it off for a more expensive coin such as the 1887 Sovereign.  They tried to do the same thing with the shield and garter Sixpence as it somewhat resembled the Half Sovereign.  Not saying that's definitely the case here but interesting to see your gold plated Crown after just reading that article last night.

[sovereignsteve]

The crown is a seriously sized piece of metal. Could possibly pass a gold plated one off for a £5 sovereign?

There were plenty of 1887 £5 coins minted but it's doubtful any were used as currency. Most people would never have seen one so I suppose it's possible.........

[sovereignsteve]

1 hour ago, DaveWheat89 said:

anybody have a ball park value on this

I would say it's in aEF condition so Spink would say about £75 - 80

That's for a silver one, no idea what difference the gold plating will make. Probably reduce it a tad as well as the file mark.

[KDave]

Its nice looking, not sure what it would be worth, in my limited experience of buying a few 1787 shillings; gilded coins even in very good condition sell for less than a top notch mint state coin. Its nice looking coin that though mate, looks like my fake 1887 £5 before I had it melted down 

[Peacemaker]

11 minutes ago, KDave said:

Its nice looking, not sure what it would be worth, in my limited experience of buying a few 1787 shillings; gilded coins even in very good condition sell for less than a top notch mint state coin. Its nice looking coin that though mate, looks like my fake 1887 £5 before I had it melted down 

i am 100% confident it is silver

[Clens92]

How to make a £100+ coin worth £12... you have my sympathies!

[sovereignsteve]

46 minutes ago, Clens92 said:

How to make a £100+ coin worth £12... you have my sympathies!

you could always try silver plating it

[Peacemaker]

1 hour ago, Clens92 said:

How to make a £100+ coin worth £12... you have my sympathies!

Looks like there is a chance it was done shortly after mintage, judging on condition i very much doubt someone would even dare to mess with such a coin today, could be one gold plated back in 1880's 90's to fool people into thinking its a £5 sov

[sovereignsteve]

55 minutes ago, DaveWheat89 said:

Looks like there is a chance it was done shortly after mintage, judging on condition

are the worn bits silver coloured or is the gold an even colour overall?

[Peacemaker]

6 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

are the worn bits silver coloured or is the gold an even colour overall?

There are no worn bits, the arm is showing full detail no flatness, and you can see victorias ear has full detail no wear at all, i think theyre the highest points of each side

[sovereignsteve]

22 minutes ago, DaveWheat89 said:

There are no worn bits, the arm is showing full detail no flatness, and you can see victorias ear has full detail no wear at all, i think theyre the highest points of each side

There are some worn areas on the veil lace and the broach / ribbon area on the shoulder, these are the first areas to show wear. The dress collar too, looks a bit smooth.

The reverse seems better.

[Peacemaker]

21 hours ago, Jester said:

Not sure if this is applicable here but I was just reading an interesting article about the 1887 coinage and how unscrupulous citizens would gold plate (or gold paint) the cheaper coin, in this case the Crown, and attempt to pass it off for a more expensive coin such as the 1887 Sovereign.  They tried to do the same thing with the shield and garter Sixpence as it somewhat resembled the Half Sovereign.  Not saying that's definitely the case here but interesting to see your gold plated Crown after just reading that article last night.

do you have a link or the name of this article so i can have a little look?, cheers

[JohnA]

As a curiosity piece, if you can verify it was plated during the period it would be worth more than if it was plated much later. I think.

It would be good if there was a way to remove the plating without damage