George IV 1821 Crown, SECUNDO edge, WWP under lance inverted

George IV (1820-30),silver Crown, 1821, inverted WWP variation, laureate head left, B.P. for Benedetto Pistrucci below, legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F:D:,rev.St George and dragon right, date in exergue, B.P. to upper right of exergue, inverted WWP on ground line below lance for William Wellesley Pole, edge inscribed in raised letters and dated, DECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI SECUNDO., weight 28.34g (Bull 2311; ESC 246; Davies 133; S.3805).Dark tone, just a hint of wear or cabinet friction to high points of reverse, otherwise a bold extremely fine with a clear inversion of the WWP initials, very rare.

The Latin legends translate as on obverse "George the Fourth by the grace of God King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith."

This very rare variation shows an incorrect insertion of the WWP "squiggle" under the broken lance at the left side of the ground line. The WWP letters are for William Wellesley Pole the Master of the Mint at the time whose initials appear in some sort of shape or form on most of the 1821 coins. The engraver of this rare reverse die variation punched them in upside down, perhaps an easy mistake to make as they are just over a millimetre wide. The variation was first noted by Peter Davies in "British Silver Coins Since 1816".

Provenance:

Ex AMR Coins, March 2026, the variation not noticed.