Coins with Duke of York Albany 1827?

Answer 1

I've just received a medallion (not a coin) commemorating the "DEATH OF DUKE OF YORK" - that's the legend above his portrait on the obverse (head). The reverse (tails) shows the words "DIED | JAN 5th | 1827" in three lines surrounded by a wreath. The medallion is made of bronze, and has diameter of 25 mm (about an inch for those old-fashioned people who remember them), and a thickness of about 1 to 1.5 mm.

It's in very well worn condition, so the legends are quite hard to read, however the portrait is in relatively high relief and the metal is good enough to have retained many details of the modelling,such as his jacket collar, lapels and epaulette and the Order of the Garter pinned to his chest.

Sorry I can't give you a picture right now; my scanner is out of order and I don't have the skills (or camera) to take any useful photos of it. Maybe later.

The medallion expresses the grief of the British people for one of their popular heroes; he's "The Grand Old Duke of York" of the nursery rhyme which satirises his early military ineptitude; but he's also the man who, more than making up for those blunders, almost single-handedly reformed the ailing British army and transformed it, through good administration, into the superior fighting forces who gave Napoleon such a terrible time. Without his work, the British Empire would never have attained the heights of power it was later to achieve under King William IV and especially Queen Victoria. For further information see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Frederick,_Duke_of_York_and_Albany Any coin-like object with the legend "DUKE OF YORK & ALBANY 1827", but no monetary value inscription, is almost certainly a medallion commemorating the death of this pop idol of British life, almost two centuries ago. A web search just now (21 January 2009) turned up another, different commemorative medal for the death of the Duke of York. One side is illustrated clearly at: http://www.thomasgreaves.com/page25.htm (second-last image) and the business says they can supply pictures iof the other side. Of course, this link is not likely to stay there very long; the business exists primarily to sell these items to the public, not to educate them or provide free reference material!