George III 1820 Crown LX edge, last year of reign MS61

George III (1760-1820),silver Crown, 1820 LX, laureate head right, PISTRUCCI below truncation, date below, legend surrounding, GEORGIUS III D: G: BRITANNIARUM REX F: D:,rev.St George and dragon right, PISTRUCCI in exergue, order of the garter motto in French surrounding, .HONI . SOIT. QUI. MAL . Y. PENSE. edge inscription, DECUS ET TUTAMEN* ANNO REGNI LVIII* (Bull 2016; ESC 219; S.3787).Silver tone with an underlying pink mint bloom, portrait, legends and reverse design all cohesive and pleasing, few of the usual contact marks. Graded by NGC as MS61.

NGC Certification 5788485-014.

The Latin legend translate as on the obverse "George the Third, by the grace of God, King of the Britons, Defender of the Faith" and the French on the reverse, "Evil to him who evil thinks," additionally on the edge "An ornament and a safeguard, in the 60^th year of the reign".

Perhaps the favourite coin of William Wellesley Pole the Master of the Mint at this time and older brother of the Duke of Wellington, the silver Crowns engraved by Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci were released with a glowing sense of pride in that Pole ordered that each piece was wrapped in tissue paper before being sent out to the banks for circulation. Considered as a piece of numismatic art by Pole who had made the sometime fiery Pistrucci the Chief Engraver in all but name as an Italian could not hold such an office in the Royal Mint officially at that time, the name of the engraver features prominently in full on both sides of the coin.