6 Pence - George I (1717–1726)

About the 1717 6 Pence - George I

The 1717 6 Pence - George I is a circulating 6 pence coin issued from 1717 to 1726, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 3g and measures 21mm across. Reverse design: Crowned cruciform shields around central Garter star, divided date above, legend around.

It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The sixpence of George I was struck in only four years: 1717, 1720, 1723 and 1726. Silver coinage was small in this reign because the price of silver had risen and much of the existing coin was being melted, a problem Isaac Newton linked to the overvalued guinea in his report of September 1717.

In 1723 the South Sea Company sent a large consignment of South American silver to the Mint, and Wikipedia records that coin to a value of around 100,000 pounds was struck from it as crowns, half crowns, shillings and sixpences, all marked SSC. It describes the SSC sixpence as common in most grades but rare in mint condition. No mintage by date is published for any George I sixpence.

The obverse shows the laureate bust of George I facing right, draped and in armour, with GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D: George, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. Tony Clayton notes that the bust was draped on the sixpence but undraped on the half guinea, because sixpences of a similar size were being gilded and passed as gold.

The reverse has four crowned shields arranged as a cross: England impaling Scotland, France, Ireland and the Electorate of Hanover, with the Garter star at the centre. The legend BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL and the date give the king's German titles, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The angles carry roses and plumes, provenance marks the Royal Mint Museum links to the Company for smelting lead with pit coal and sea coal, or SS and C on the 1723 coins. John Croker engraved the dies.

Varieties and errors

Clayton records a scarce 1717 sixpence with a plain edge, issued without milling in error and not a proof. The 1723 SSC is the only George I sixpence with that mark. Coin Hunter also lists a 1723 type with larger lettering and describes the 1726 marks as small roses and plumes.

Collecting notes

Start with the reverse: roses and plumes or SSC in the angles, and a clear date. On a 1717, read the edge carefully, since an apparently plain edge may simply be worn. Wear shows first on the hair and the drapery, and on the crowns over the shields.

Gilded sixpences passed as half guineas were a known problem in the period, so a gold-coloured example needs checking for weight and metal. The George I shilling shares the same reverse arrangement.