Julie H. writes: Hello there, I have a Prince of Wales Model Half Sovereign coin minted in 1854. On the reverse side it shows a picture of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain I would like to know if it is worth anything. Thanks for any assistance.
The “model” coins are essentially under the heading of “play” money. Originally they were used as counters in card games. The most common of these tokens are brass imitations of guineas and half-guineas of George III. These were made between about 1787 and 1800. Other small brass playing-card counters mix, for example, Victoria with an Imperial German Eagle. The Prince of Wales model half-sovereign was the monopoly money of Victorian children’s games.
Model coins are fun to collect and are genuine relics of a past culture.
