{"id":1050,"date":"2026-01-28T08:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1050"},"modified":"2026-01-28T08:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:04:02","slug":"collection-focus-the-unbeatable-bet-edward-vii-double-obverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1050","title":{"rendered":"Collection Focus: The Unbeatable Bet (Edward VII Double-Obverse)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Every collection needs a curiosity\u2014something that makes you look twice. At first glance, this looks like a standard penny of Edward VII. But if you flip it over, you are greeted by the King’s face… again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not a rare error from the Royal Mint. It is a piece of “Post-Mint Damage” (PMD)<\/strong> with a mischievous purpose. It is a classic Magician’s Coin<\/strong>, engineered to ensure the owner never loses a coin toss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Construction: A skilled fabrication<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This item was created by taking two genuine Edward VII pennies and skillfully machining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Method:<\/strong>\u00a0Usually, one coin is shaved down to a thin “shell,” and the other is ground down to fit inside it. Alternatively, both are ground flat and soldered together.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
The Seam:<\/strong>\u00a0As noted in the description, the join is just visible around the rim. This is the tell-tale sign of a manufactured trick coin. If this were a genuine mint error (known as a “Brockage”), the image on one side would be incuse (sunken and reversed). Here, both portraits are raised and facing the correct way, proving it was man-made.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The Coin(s): Edward VII Penny (c. 1902\u20131910)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Dates:<\/strong>\u00a0Hidden forever (sandwiched in the middle!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Designer:<\/strong>\u00a0G.W. de Saulles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The “Bald King”:<\/strong> The host coins feature the classic profile of Edward VII. He was the first British monarch to be depicted without a crown on domestic coinage since the time of Charles II, leading to the nickname the “Bald King.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Condition & Grading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You cannot grade this coin on the Sheldon scale because, technically, it is a destroyed coin. However, we can judge the craftsmanship<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Assessment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Join:<\/strong>\u00a0The fact that the seam is visible but subtle suggests a competent machinist or jeweller did the work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
The Surfaces:<\/strong>\u00a0The coins used were clearly circulated before they were joined. There is distinct wear on the King’s hair and beard on both sides. The colour is a consistent, dull bronze, suggesting the alteration happened a long time ago\u2014perhaps contemporary to the Edwardian era or shortly after.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
While a purist might call this a “fake,” I view it as a piece of social history. It wasn’t made to deceive a shopkeeper; it was made to deceive a friend at a bar. It is a tactile reminder of the lighter side of numismatics. It sits in my collection not as a specimen of the Royal Mint, but as a specimen of human ingenuity (and perhaps a bit of dishonesty!).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every collection needs a curiosity\u2014something that makes you look twice. At first glance, this looks like a standard penny of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[146,149],"tags":[83,108],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-1050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fakes","category-trick-coins","tag-bronze","tag-penny"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Great-Britain-Edward-VII-1-Penny-combined.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1051,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050\/revisions\/1051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1050"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwf_post_folders&post=1050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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