George V (1911-1936)
The coinage of George V is rapidly gaining new interest, following the relatively recently discovery of unrecorded die pairings and designs from the 1922-1926 period. Chris Peckris has written in some depth on this subject in Coin News (November 2015 to February 2016) and I have also included detailed descriptions of these coins on this website as well as writing my own article in Coin News (April 2019) about the pennies of 1922-26.
George V Obverse Gouby A (Freeman Obverse 1)
Legend reads:
GEORGIVS V DEI GRA:BRITT:OMN:REX FID: DEF:IND:IMP:
GEORGE V DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIAE IMPERATOR
(George VI, by the Grace of God, King of all Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India)
The obverse was designed by Sir Bertam McKennal whose initials B.M. are raised on the truncation just right of centre opposite the M of IMP; the colon dots after GRA: point to a gap between border teeth with the lower colon dot closer to A of GRA than B of BRITT; the colon dots after IMP: point to a tooth; both the I of BRITT and the I of IMP point to a gap; the upright of B in BRITT points to a gap; colon of DEF: points to a gap
This obverse was used from 1911 to 1913
181 teeth in border
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George V Obverse Gouby X (Hollow Neck)
Very similar to Obverse A but one fewer border teeth such that both the I of BRITT and the I of IMP point to a tooth (key indicator); the king’s neck appears to have a hollower section (not always easy to spot).
Freeman states that the hollow neck appears on coins dated 1911 and 1912 but this particular obverse has only been found to date on coins dated 1911.
180 border teeth
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George V Obverse Gouby B (Freeman Obverse 2)
Similar to Obverse A except that the colon dots after GRA: point to a tooth and the lower colon dot is midway between A of GRA and B of BRITT (which are closer); the colon dots after IMP: point to a gap between teeth; the D of IND and the I of IMP are slightly closer; the I of BRITT points slightly right of a tooth; the upright of B in BRITT points to a tooth; the colon of DEF: points to a tooth
This obverse was used from 1913 to 1921
180 teeth in border
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Sub-variety of Gouby Obverse B (Freeman Obverse 2) – “Recessed Ear”
On this obverse, the king’s ear (the highest part of his profile) has been lowered in an attempt to reduce the “ghosting” effect whereby a faint outline of the king’s silhouette became visible on the reverse; the obverse can be identified by a broken border tooth (thought to be possibly used by the Royal Mint as a die identifier) above the top right of the last T in BRITT
This obverse was used in 1915 and 1916
180 border teeth
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Sub-variety of Gouby Obverse B (Freeman Obverse 2) – “Crow’s Foot”
Coins struck in 1918 and 1919 often exhibit this die flaw along the king’s jawline from ear to throat, sometimes referred to as a “crow’s foot” flaw
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George V Gouby Obverse C (Freeman Obverse 3)
Similar to Obverse B except that GRA and BRITT are further apart again with the colon dots midway between (4 teeth from : to B), and pointing to a tooth; the colon dots after IMP: point to a tooth; I of BRITT points to a tooth; upright of B in BRITT points to a tooth; the front tip of the truncation is sharper
This obverse was used from 1920 to 1926 (no pennies were minted from 1923-25 inclusive)
180 border teeth
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George V Obverse Gouby D (Freeman Obverse 4) – “Modified Effigy”
Similar to Obverse C but the bust has been modified in further attempts to reduce ghosting; the initials B M are smaller, without full stops and further right on the truncation opposite the I of IMP; the colon dots after GRA: point to a tooth and the lower dot touches the base of the A of GRA; there is a wider gap between colon of BRITT: and O of OMN; colon dots after IMP: point to tooth
158 teeth in border
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Obverse C (Freeman 3) |
Obverse D (Freeman 4) |
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Obverse D was used officially in 1926 & 1927 (but has also been found on a single penny dated 1922)
Distinguishing between George V obverses A, B, C and D
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Obverse A |
Obverse B |
Obverse C |
Obverse D |
The position of the A of GRA and the B of BRITT and the colon dots between them is a useful guide
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George V Obverse Gouby E (Freeman Obverse 5)
Similar to Obverse D but the bust is much smaller; the legend is further from the border teeth and is more equally spaced – it is almost continuous around the bust; the colon dots in the legend are equidistant between words
This obverse was used from 1928 to 1936
162 teeth in border
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