Jump to content
  • The above Banner is a Sponsored Banner.

    Upgrade to Premium Membership to remove this Banner & All Google Ads. For full list of Premium Member benefits Click HERE.

  • Join The Silver Forum

    The Silver Forum is one of the largest and best loved silver and gold precious metals forums in the world, established since 2014. Join today for FREE! Browse the sponsor's topics (hidden to guests) for special deals and offers, check out the bargains in the members trade section and join in with our community reacting and commenting on topic posts. If you have any questions whatsoever about precious metals collecting and investing please join and start a topic and we will be here to help with our knowledge :) happy stacking/collecting. 21,000+ forum members and 1 million+ forum posts. For the latest up to date stats please see the stats in the right sidebar when browsing from desktop. Sign up for FREE to view the forum with reduced ads. 

Coloured Silver Coins are Nothing New


Recommended Posts

Many people think coloured coins are a recent introduction.

Canada introduced the world's "colorized" circulating coin in 2004, but skilled craftsmen were enameling coins during the reign of Queen Victoria, especially around the time of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. Birmingham was the main UK centre. Small craft workshops produced them, by taking good condition coins, some from as early as Charles II.

Here is an example which has seen better days, but I still like it:

1787georgeiiishillingcolouredreverserevcrop.thumb.jpg.075de79436f53bde93d39b401a5653e0.jpg

It is a silver shillling of George III dated 1787, and may have been enamed in 1887 as a "centenary" piece, together with an 1887 Victoria Jubilee shilling.

Our example appears to have used at least 6 different colours, and it was undoubtedly trickier to create with more more colours.

The obvse side looks awful, probably have had a brooch mount removed leaving ugly solder marks:

1787georgeiiishillingcolouredreverseobvcrop.thumb.jpg.e127445800a6084184ff9f0744e451e1.jpg

The enamel was not just applied to the existing surfaces. They first had to be scorped out to a greater depth, and left with a rough surface for the enamel to bond to. Enamel paste was applied, but I don't know whether this was one colour at a time, then fired to melt and fix the enamel. I did once investigate the process with a master enameller in Birmingham, but have forgotten much of the conversation. I can remember the final products would not have been cheap.

Some coins were enameled on both sides, and these are rarer than single sided examples. Apparently the skill and knowledge to do it has now been lost.

It is also likely that some of the pigments used in the enamel might not be permitted under modern health and safety laws.

Somewhere, we have some more enameled coins hidden away, waiting to be photographed when they emerge.

😎

Chards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

Canada introduced the world's "colorized" circulating coin in 2004...

It wasn't the RCM 2004 introducing the first colored coin, but CIT in 1992 with the first Palau Marine Life Protection coin. I guess, they need a better marketing🤣5f7b0fb3247f71.07060801-original.jpg.18195db905e9cf12c684c9d8a905a4f8.jpg5f7b0fb2db7166.72146887-original.jpg.ba39118ddb7a04caf452e5f8a1ae2fdc.jpg

 

But i like the look of the silver shilling way more. Never knew about these old enameled coins. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, dikefalos said:

It wasn't the RCM 2004 introducing the first colored coin, but CIT in 1992 with the first Palau Marine Life Protection coin. I guess, they need a better marketing🤣5f7b0fb3247f71.07060801-original.jpg.18195db905e9cf12c684c9d8a905a4f8.jpg5f7b0fb2db7166.72146887-original.jpg.ba39118ddb7a04caf452e5f8a1ae2fdc.jpg

 

But i like the look of the silver shilling way more. Never knew about these old enameled coins. 

"circulating"!

😎

Chards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, dikefalos said:

Everybody in/on Palau pays everything with Marine Life Protection, Tiffany Art and Hunters by Night smartminting coins. Why else should release CIT so many of them?

🤣

 

Remind me who CIT are?

😎

Chards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

Remind me who CIT are?

😎

These young 'uns eh with their fancy acronyms, never caring about the sexygenarian and septuagenarian members here 😉

I've no idea what CIT is, but I'd give it L if I could 😇

Edited by Roy

Technically, alcohol is a solution..

'It [socialism] poses a growing threat, however unintentional, to the freedom of this country, for there is no freedom where the State totally controls the economy. Personal freedom and economic freedom are indivisible. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t lose one without losing the other.'

"There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money"

Let not England forget her precedence of teaching nations how to live, and It's  Britannia, with one t and two n's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, LawrenceChard said:

Remind me who CIT are?

😎

Coin Invest Trust, Liechtenstein.

https://www.cit.li

They are trying many minting techniques and coin "customizing", like colored coins, coin inserts (Swarowski chrystals, glas, meteorites, etc.) for around 30 years now. Usually everything "new" was produced first by them. They are projecting many coins for Powercoin , Numiscollect, etc. and are releasing tons of self distributed coins. Minted are the coins by B.H.Mayer, Munich. I guess the Tiffany Art is the most known series from them. I'm a huge fan since they released 2020 the Majestic Eagle. Many of my favorite coins are Smartminting coins, like the Palau Panther (my avatar), or the Steampunk coins.20220515_235322.thumb.jpg.f433b2bc830bcf84233aef5d607a585d.jpg20220515_234310.thumb.jpg.855e76e4f3ee5bb5acda594820ed277b.jpg20220329_122423.thumb.jpg.669904e966086244213521a4dc84c4ce.jpg.cca480121b6a2f5d8e9aff79644320ac.jpgCol_Steampunk2022-1-1280x720.thumb.jpg.f13b82e62756b34366a3040e7d25c71b.jpg

But they ain't release only coins for me. They sell also beauties, like the Harry and Meghan coin, or this beautiful 1 OZ Baguette coin.  🙈ikcoc21810_2.jpg.51566fe7c2c34a75872deb5e4f4c4ead.jpgikcoc21810_3.jpg.cac2f91cc3fa11c5c15ae2c2ac1d8e75.jpg29329_French-Baguette-Ag-1oz-2020_r-1-910x910.thumb.png.4bdaa880bc4a5b7242fd37783d6bb32a.png29329_French-Baguette-Ag-1oz-2020_o-1-910x910.thumb.png.f376d9c3f4d7912b6f2a71308e985e5d.png

Edited by dikefalos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I collect enamelled coins and even purchased a kiln and supplies in an effort to tart-up some cheap damaged examples. The work involved is incredibly exacting and laborious. Not helped due to some of the original colours used now being considered dangerous (and unavailable). Needless to say (after giving up) i have a lot of admiration for those who had the patience and skill to do it.

Looking into the double-sided coins it turns out that the trick was to use coloured glass with a higher temperature melting point on one side before enamelling the other. Failure to do so would result in the enamel on the bottom face of the coin running out when placed (upside down) in the kiln. The difference in melting temperature was relatively small so controlling it was paramount. I suspect that the colours used had some bearing on the flow temperature - as certain colours got banned from use then the technique gradually became unachievable.

Probably. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coloured coins definitely have a role to play, if perhaps only an aesthetic one with novelty value (my opinion only) . 

I have only one coloured coin : a beautiful little silver proof Peter Rabbit 50p which I got in my @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer Mystery Box last Christmas.  I love it.

Edited by flyingveepixie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Roy said:

These young 'uns eh with their fancy acronyms, never caring about the sexygenarian and septuagenarian members here 😉

I've no idea what CIT is, but I'd give it L if I could 😇

Not to mention the ventinovians.

That was almost on the tip of my tongue!

😎

Chards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, dikefalos said:

Coin Invest Trust, Liechtenstein.

https://www.cit.li

They are trying many minting techniques and coin "customizing", like colored coins, coin inserts (Swarowski chrystals, glas, meteorites, etc.) for around 30 years now. Usually everything "new" was produced first by them. They are projecting many coins for Powercoin , Numiscollect, etc. and are releasing tons of self distributed coins. Minted are the coins by B.H.Mayer, Munich. I guess the Tiffany Art is the most known series from them. I'm a huge fan since they released 2020 the Majestic Eagle. Many of my favorite coins are Smartminting coins, like the Palau Panther (my avatar), or the Steampunk coins.

But they ain't release only coins for me. They sell also beauties, like the Harry and Meghan coin, or this beautiful 1 OZ Baguette coin.  🙈

Of course, I should have remembered.

A lot of gimmicky stuff!

😎

Chards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, LawrenceChard said:

Of course, I should have remembered.

A lot of gimmicky stuff!

😎

Lot's of. Despite most of their 350 coins per year are not my taste, most of my favorite modern coins are made by them. No other mint is producing more accurate high relief coins. The detailed work is absolute amazing. And they are constantly evolving. The "Trapped" series is a good example of this. The fabric effect looks more and more realistic every year and the details are also getting better and better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Cookies & terms of service

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies and to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use