A selection of some of the better / more interesting coins SOLD through HistoryInCoins.com

in 2024

WTH-7678: A Hoard of x12 Hammered Silver Tudor Elizabeth 1^st Sixpences.  See larger images here and here.  An exciting opportunity to acquire not just part of the famous Ewerby (Lincolnshire) Hoard, but part of English Civil War history and even better, part of one of the largest English Civil War hoards ever to be found in England!  Autumn 2016 witnessed a metal detectorist, searching a field near the village of Ewerby in Lincolnshire, unearth just over 1,200 hammered silver coins ranging from Charles 1^st, James 1^st, Elizabeth 1^st and all the way back to Henry VIII.  There were even some Charles 1^st Scottish coins in the hoard.  The find was immediately reported to the local Portable Antiquities Scheme Officer who duly notified the finder that he had uncovered an important Civil War Hoard which would be classed as ‘Treasure’ under the Treasure Act 1996. The coins were catalogued, photographed and then offered to museums. Lincoln museum purchased 300 for their collection and the remainder were disclaimed and returned to the finder and landowner. The full Portable Antiquities Scheme report can be viewed here: Record ID: LIN-F454C4 – POST MEDIEVAL coin hoard (finds.org.uk).  See image here of the actual full hoard in 2016.  Subsequent research tells us that the hoard was deposited into the rural Lincolnshire ground, inside a large earthenware jug, in 1643, during the early months of the English Civil War or Great Rebellion - technically a series of wars of ranging from 1642 – 1651.  Ewerby was a Royalist stronghold in 1643.  Was this hoard the result of a wealthy resident hiding away his silver so that it could not be “donated” to the cause?  Was it the personal wealth of a soldier?  There were no banks as such at this time and so this kind of secretion into the earth before going into battle was a common practise.  Further, Ewerby would have been very much in the heart of the conflict, lying as it does between Sleaford and Grantham.  This part-hoard is sold with an excellent information booklet – image here reproduced with kind permission of Silbury Coins.  Of the coins themselves, they were all getting on for 70 years when they went into the ground.  As you can see from the image of the hoard, the sixpences offered here represent above average grade overall.  Coinage back then was very much the silver content only; the state of the coin or even what was on it was basically irrelevant so the unlucky owner back then was not interested in grade.  Interestingly though, even though the hoard was deposited under Charles 1^st, the hoard itself was made up predominantly of Elizabeth 1^st coinage and further, mid-reign Elizabeth 1^st coinage, although clearly it wasn’t going to be end-reign coinage as those dates were rare even then.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity!   SOLD

WSax-7988: Harold II Very Late Saxon Hammered Silver Penny - Better Mint. B.M.C. I, PAXS (peace) type, 5th January 1066 – 14th October 1066 only with the end of the reign coming on the battlefield at the famous Battle of Hastings.  Obverse crowned bust, left, sceptre before, +HAROLD REX AN; reverse PAX in a central tablet, +AELFGEAT ON LINCOL – moneyer Wulfgeat struck at the Lincoln mint.  An extremely healthy 1.33g with 10h die rotation.  Hild type A, Spink 1186, North 836.  The 14th October 1066, witnessed the fall of the Saxon period and the dawn of the Norman period in England.  Although created by the victors, the Bayous Tapestry is said to be somewhat representative of the battle: commissioned by Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror's half-brother, the Tapestry tells the story of the events surrounding the conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy, including the famous arrow (spoiler alert: there was no arrow in the eye until the nineteenth century restorers put it there and further, the recipient of said nineteenth century arrow wasn’t even Harold Godwinson).  Lincoln is a rarer Saxon mint, situated up on the left of Steep Hill and, I believe, the building is still there, or at least remnants of it?  In terms of the obverse legend ending, the much abbreviated ANGLO, represented on this die by simply "AN", is very rare.  The famous Braintree Hoard of late Anglo-Saxon pennies was 122 in total.  Of those, most were the unabbreviated version - ANGLO.  Of that hoard, only x8 terminated in "AN": x3 London mint (many more London mints were the usual longer reading), x3 Maldon mint (there were only x3 Maldon mint coins in the hoard), a single Stamford and a single Wilton mint.  Again, Stamford and Wilton were represented by more coins but these all had the longer version.  Crucially, the two Lincoln pennies in that hoard were both ANGL.  Toned VF - a very handsome and imposing coin.  Finally, there were x3 Maldon mint coins in the Braintree Hoard and only x2 Lincoln.  Maldon is so rare a mint as to have zero examples so far recorded on the EMC database!  This coin toned and VF.  A very handsome, imposing, rare and desirable coin. SOLD

WAu-8001: Rare Celtic Eppillus PEGASUS Type Quarter Stater. Regini & Atrebates (south of the River Thames), Eppillus, circa 20 BC to 1 AD. Termed the Eppillus Pegasus gold quarter stater: EPPIL COM F in two lines / Pegasus right with pellet in ring below. Eppillus was known as "Little Horse" and was the second of three rulers who claimed to be a son of Commios. Commios "removed" his elder brother, Tincomarus, out of the Atrebates half of the Commian kingdom and proclaimed himself "King of Calleva". Spink 98, ABC 1154 (listed "Very Rare") - Ancient British Coins (ABC) by Chris Rudd, the go-to reference for Celtic coins since 2010, taking over from Van Arsdell. An excellent example from this sought after, attractive type, being toned and well centred. See here for old tickets etc and here for the weight. SOLD

Ex T. Matthews (sold 1985 for £260 to)

Ex Haddenham collection

Ex Spink

WSC-7953: Mary Queen of Scots CHOICE Grade Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee. First period sixpence, before marriage, 1542-58. Edinburgh mint. Solid saltire cross through the crown, Spink 5432. This was issued at 3/4 alloy, which accounts for the grim and / or problematic nature of most examples that turn up. This is an exceptionally nice example being choice for issue. SOLD

WI-7989: Extremely Rare Edward IV Irish "Radiant Star" Issue Hammered Silver Penny. First reign, second coinage, 1462-3. Dublin mint. Obverse: distinctive cross pattee surrounded by a large rose; reverse: radiant sun with pellet in large annulet at centre. [EDW D.G. DNS] hYBERN / [CIVI T]AS DVB L[INIE]. Very few of these early crown or radiant sun issues ever turn up as the mintage was miniscule. The uncertainties due to the ongoing War of the Roses initially led to the Irish issues being somewhat reluctant to give full regnal names and / or regnal portraits, or indeed to issue much coinage at all. They strove to make these early issues as indistinguishable from the English coinage as possible. This Radiant Sun issue would appear to have been issued immediately after the Battle of Towton in 1461, when the identity of the king could be stated in safety - indeed, the Radiant Sun was Edward's heraldic device so it's clear to see which way the Irish were going. Spink 6290 and 6289 in a revised edition. High grade for issue - VF - with just a small chip due to the brittle nature of these coins. Excessively rare - literally the first example I've ever handled. SOLD

WJC-7477: HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1692 William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee. Circulated at a sixpence. En medaille die rotation. Dublin. An act of Privy Council in August 1691 authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or less per year, but never to be exceeded. This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark Cross of Five Pellets, or Rosette, (many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), Spink 5667. Collectors will be aware that you hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF – they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of circulation. Further, the obverse dies of William & Mary bawbees specifically were simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the conjoined busts to give a good result. The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie not a patch on the reverse. This coin is EF for issue – Spink don’t think any coins in this grade exist for this year, as evidenced in Spink 2020. One or two bawbees of this grade, possibly not quite as good as this one in particular, recently came up in Heritage Auctions where they all achieved four figure prices. I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality ever again – they are that rare. SOLD

WSC-7990: 1558 Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Silver Testoon of Four Shillings. First period before marriage, 1542-58. Type IIIb with the low-arched crown and the slightly rarer annulets below the M and the R variety. Initial mark Crown. Spink 5407. Muling of the dates on these was known to happen but then the mixing of obverse and reverse dies has always been a thing as they were thought to have been kept loose in a box. The unusual double-date nature of this coin means you couldn't really get away with it so easily. This coin is dated 1558 remarkably clearly on both sides as even on good grade Testoons, the dates are often bordering on indiscernible. Scottish coinage in general was a product of miniscule mintage figures compared to south of the border, and yet pricing seems almost equivalent? Now clearly English coinage is collected to a much greater extent than Scottish but even so, why is Scottish coinage so undervalued in today’s market compared to its undeniable rarity? I have the mintage figures of the milled five shillings to hand:

23rd Oct to 23rd Dec 1692 = 2,692 coins

5th Jan to 5th Dec 1694 = 3,496 coins

3rd Jan to 10th May 1698 = 32,857 coins

Clearly the above data shows later coins (but if anything, mintages on later Scottish coinage increased, not decreased) and as a side point, that the dates on the coins were not always contemporaneous. Tiny mintages though, and don’t forget currency recalls where coinage would be taken in to go into the melting pot upon the death of every old monarch to release silver and gold for new monarch's coinage. There was also a large recall of coinage in 1707 as a result of the Act of Union: £142,180 face value of hammered Scottish coinage and £96,856 face value of milled Scottish coinage was brought into the Edinburgh mint to be melted down and recoined. Interestingly, £132,080 face value of foreign (non English, Irish or Scottish) was also handed in, highlighting just how bereft of physical coinage Scotland was at this time, and thus how rare Scottish coinage is today. Toned. Sold with an old Rasmusson ticket, possibly 2020, and a much earlier Spink ticket with a ticket price of £575. A very desirable coin. SOLD

WAu-7992: Edward VI Hammered Gold Stuart Half Sovereign. Tower (London) mint, third period, initial mark Tun, 1551-53. Larger image here and coin-in-the-hand image here. The third period coinage is generally accepted as being the most attractive issue, even trumping the first period sovereigns. Half figure of the king, half right, holding sword and orb; crowned royal shield, ER flanking. Spink 2451, North 1928, Schneider 696 var. VF or better, no clipping, no mount marks, no repairs - a problem free, high grade example of a coin that is rarely offered for sale. SOLD

WSax-7986: Aethelred II Late Saxon Hammered Silver Penny - Rare Mint. B.M.C. IVa, voided long cross type, AD 997-1003. +VLE GET MO L IHFR - moneyer Wulfgeat working out of the Leicester mint town. A rare mint and an even rarer moneyer with only a single example of Wulfgeat being recorded for Aethelred II B.M.C. IVa on the excellent EMC database. Good provenance, being ex Steve Green collection, ex A.William collection (acquired CNG 2020), ex Spink (2014), ex Baldwin's (2007). Rare. SOLD

WMH-7863: Henry 1^st Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C. I, the Autumn of 1100 only: +GDPINE ON PIILI – Godwine of Wallingford. Spink 1263. Only one other example recorded on the EMC and SCBI database. Found Prestonfield (Hampshire) 2005, sold DNW September 2005 into a private collection until now. Sold with old tickets. The very first issue under Henry 1st and very much predating the mint's need to officially test cut coins (this practise commenced 1105). An exceptionally rare coin. SOLD

WSC-7493: 1601 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver PORTRAIT Thirty Pence. Seventh coinage, Edinburgh mint. Spink 5495. A rarer denomination but more, an excessively rare date – the rarest by some margin in the seven year run. Spink rate this date at £675 and as collectors will be all too aware, Spink are famous for under-pricing. A very rare coin indeed being better than the Spink plate coin. SOLD

WSC-7743: 1569 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Two Thirds Ryal. First coinage, dated 1569 (joint rarest date with 1570), Spink 5474. Known as the “Two Thirds Sword Dollar” and circulated at 20 shillings. However, less than a decade on from when this coin left the mint, specifically in 1578, the price of silver bullion had increased to such a point that the metal content of this coin was literally higher than its face value. Thus it became necessary to revalue the coin from 20 shillings to 24 shillings and 6 pence. This was done to all silver coinage that was in circulation at the time, including issues from the earlier reign of Mary. A counterstamp of a crown over thistle was used to denote the new, higher value of the coin. The coin itself has witnessed some circulation in the 9 years up until its revaluation but the counterstamp itself is fresh and the resultant convex area on the obverse, although visible, isn’t that pronounced which implies the coin didn’t see that much circulation post revaluation. Good provenance, inc Spink – see tickets. A rare date coin with a most interesting story behind it. SOLD

WSC-7803: 1558 Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Silver Testoon or Four Shillings. First period before marriage, 1542-58. Type IIIb with the low-arched crown and no annulets below the M and the R, initial mark Crown. Spink 5406. Interestingly, of the tiny handful of Mary Testoons that I’ve had over more years than I care to acknowledge, I think I’m correct in saying that this one is the first without a muling of the dates?! Scottish coinage in general was a product of miniscule mintage figures compared to south of the border, and yet pricing seems almost equivalent? Now clearly English coinage is collected to a much greater extent than Scottish but even so, why is Scottish coinage so undervalued in today’s market compared to its undeniable rarity? I have the mintage figures of the milled five shillings to hand:

23^rd Oct to 23^rd Dec 1692 = 2,692 coins

5^th Jan to 5^th Dec 1694 = 3,496 coins

3^rd Jan to 10^th May 1698 = 32,857 coins

Clearly the above data shows that the dates on the coins were not always contemporaneous. Tiny mintages though, and don’t forget currency recalls where coinage would be taken in to go into the melting pot upon the death of every old monarch to release silver for new monarch coinage. There was also a large recall of coinage in 1707 as a result of the Act of Union: £142,180 face value of hammered Scottish coinage and £96,856 face value of milled Scottish coinage was brought into the Edinburgh mint to be melted down and recoined. Interestingly, £132,080 face value of foreign (non English, Irish or Scottish) was handed in, highlighting just how bereft of physical coinage Scotland was at this time, and thus hare rare Scottish coinage is today. Some toning and abt VF as stated on the ticket. A very desirable coin. SOLD

WI-7973: Richard III Very Late Irish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Second Richard III coinage (the first being Sun & Roses), Dublin mint, circa 1483-5 only. Portrait of the king with thick upper lip (a characteristic on all Irish obverse dies of Richard III), annulets either side of the neck, reverse central quatrefoil. Spink 6410, Burns Du-17(R). These coins were not heavily clipped, rather they were full size dies struck on exceedingly short flans. A very rare coin indeed, rendered all the more so by the full regnal name reading, something we will likely never see again on an example of this issue. SOLD

WSC-7934: John Baliol Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver HALF Penny. Second coinage - "smooth" surface issue. Spink 5074. Most likely Berwick mint. A particularly hard denomination to source and when they do turn up, they're rarely any better than this example. John Baliol was “chosen” out of thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne upon the death of Alexander III. The English king, Edward I, was the arbitrator. John Baliol’s four year reign ended in 1296 with his abdication when Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Roxburgh and Stirling all fell to the English. He was succeeded by Robert Bruce. SOLD

WMH-7938: Henry IV Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny. The House of Lancaster. Heavy (first) issue, 1399-1412. London mint, this being the only mint issuing Heavy Issue fractions. Now this is an incredibly interesting and rare coin. The Heavy Coinage for halfpence consists of x4 types. The first three, not surprisingly termed Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3, are all from dies derived from Types 3, 4 and 5 of Richard II. This is evident from the face and crown punches, not the legends. So basically, we're talking the recycling of old Richard II punches to make new Henry IV dies. What we have here though, in this Type II Henry IV coin, is not Richard's face and crown punches being re-used, but actually a Richard II recycled full obverse Type 4 die, altered from RICARD REX AnGL to read hENRIC REX ANG, evidenced from the image here which shows clearly the R of RICARD clearly altered to an h for hENRIC! I am not aware of this being noticed or recorded previously, which is perhaps unsurprising when you consider the extreme sparseness of the Heavy Coinage halfpenny population, coupled with the ubiquitous irregular flans which often omit illustrative legends. I refer readers to The Galata Guide to Small Change by the couple, Withers - a seminal numismatic publication if ever there was one. Even in that research, this recycling of full dies as opposed to just punches is not touched upon. The Spink referencing (S.1723-4) has become virtually useless in light of recent research, as it has with the James 1st sixpences and countless other issues. As I stated at the start: an incredibly interesting and rare coin! SOLD

WSC-7972: Scottish Mary Hammered Silver Stuart HALF Testoon. First period before marriage, 1542-58. Dated 1558. Type IIIa the variety without the annulets below M & R. Spink 5413. The Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles (#35 – Scottish coins in the Ashmolean & Hunterian Museums) lists only one example of this type in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow with none in the Ashmolean Museum. The syllogy only lists two examples across the entire range, the other being a 1555 type II. The National Museum in Edinburgh contains one single example with the caveat, "Hairline inner circles", which this coin also exhibits. An incredibly rare denomination to source, being much, much harder than the full testoons, and they're hard enough to get hold of these days! SOLD

WAu-7694: Henry VI Hammered Gold First Reign Noble. Annulet issue of 1422-30. Initial mark Lis, London mint, annulet by sword arm and in one reverse spandrel (1 0’clock). Spink 1799. 6.87 grams, 4h, 34mm diameter. Attractively toned, GVF grade. Sold with a couple of old tickets, one being Baldwin’s – see here. A handsome and desirable coin. SOLD

WMH-7918: Richard III Late Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Initial mark Boar's Head, London mint, type 2, Spink 2156.  The all important regnal name is very clear, as is the rarer and much more desirable initial mark Boar's Head - the personal device or badge of Richard III.  Ex Spink although the coin envelope looks to predate the tickets, perhaps indicating Spink had this on two separate occasions?  A full weight coin. Grades to abt VF. The famous "King in the Carpark!"  Whist Richard was no saint (I think some poor decisions and a ruthless streak that they all had at that time was about as bad as it got), he probably wasn't a ‘child killer’, ‘murderer’, or ‘usurper’, at least no ore than any other medieval monarch.  Don't believe all that Shakespeare tells you!!  Rare. SOLD

WAu-7940: Henry VII Hammered Tudor Gold Angel. Type IV, rarer Greyhound Head initial mark (1502-4), Spink 2185.  This is the first Greyhound Head angel I have had.  Very much the new dies type - angel with both feet on the dragon as opposed to the old type with just one foot.  A nice, presentable rarer initial mark hammered gold angel, ex mount, for well under £2,000 (possibly even cheaper if you take up the Coin News advert challenge?!)  Good look in finding any other Angel, for any monarch, for sale at under £2K these days. SOLD

WSC-7620: 1622 James 1^st Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings - Choice. Tenth coinage, type II, Edinburgh mint. Initial mark Thistle, Spink 5508. An interesting issue in that it’s very easy to mistake this for the English sixpence (indeed, bizarrely, the 1622 English 6d also has initial mark Thistle, which is the usual way people differentiate) but if you look closely at the reverse shield, you’ll note the Scottish arms at are in the 1^st and 4^th quarters. I’m not sure this has ever been illustrated before but here’s a comparison of the reverse shields on James 1^st English sixpences and Scottish James VI six shillings. One point of caution: the 1605, 1606 and 1609/7 Scottish six shillings have the English coat of arms so the initial mark is all you have to differentiate between the two! Burns 163 (fig. 986), SCBI 35 (Scottish) 1379, Spink 5508 (this coin illustrated as the Spink plate coin in the 2n edition). The very last Scottish six shillings date, made all the more interesting when you consider that there were no issues in 1620 and 1621. Outstanding provenance: ex Carlyon-Britton, ex Glendining’s (1957), ex R.C. Locket, ex Spnk (1987), ex J.K.R. Murray, ex Spink (2006), ex LaRiviere, ex Davvison’s (2009), ex Chris Comber. All tickets shown here. The Collection of the National Museum of Scotland listed in Sylloge 70 only has the following dates in their collection: 1610, 1612, 1613 1615, 1617, 1618, 1619, 1622 and an unlisted date of 1624, which gives you an idea as to the extreme rarity of ALL Scottish six shillings. Further, none of the museum coins come close to the grade of this piece and are mostly worn with only the 1619 piece being better than the others and closer in grade to this coin. There is currently a 1615 Scottish six shillings for sale elsewhere, in a very similar grade to this coin but most importantly, WITHOUT any of the impressive provenance of this coin, at £4,500. This is such an impressive coin in both rarity, grade and provenance. Choice. SOLD

WSC-7724: Robert 1^st THE BRUCE Scottish Hammered Silver FARTHING. Another image here using a completely different camera, a different background and a less invasive light source. 1306-29. Minted at either Edinburgh (this mint was recaptured by the Scots in 1313) or Berwick (this unassuming English / Scottish coastal town changed hands no fewer than 14 times in the two centuries leading up to 1482). Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +ROBERTVS DEI GRA, rev. long cross pattee, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR VM REX, weight 0.35g, Spink 5078. Interestingly, the farthing is virtually identical to the penny, bar the obvious size differential, whilst the middle denomination, the halfpenny, is quite different on the reverse. Robert Bruce was a direct descendant of David 1^st. Robert was crowned in 1306, on the back of ten turbulent years with various armies moving backwards and forwards over Scotland. In 1318, Bruce’s reign saw the gradual repossession of the kingdom, partly from the English and partly from Scottish rivals. It is likely that no coinage was struck for Robert Bruce until 1320. I have a lot of time for Coincraft’s informative and sometimes insightful comments (less so their pricing although to be fair, it’s an old publication) and they have not let the collector down on this coin – see what they say here. There was a wonderful piece of research done on Robert 1^st coinage undertaken by Nick Holmes and Lord Stewartby. They recorded only twelve farthings of Robert the Bruce in their die study of the coinage in 2000, of which nine were in museum collections. The full research is to be found in BNJ 70, pp. 45–60. An excessively rare denomination from this highly sought-after Scottish monarch; one who gave the English a seriously bloody nose at the Battle of Bannockburn, placing him in an extremely select group of Scottish leaders. SOLD

WMH-7853: Edward IV Hammered Silver Medieval Long Cross Penny. Second reign, House of York, York mint. Initial mark a Rose; T and slanting Key by the neck; a Star on the chest - an Archbishop Rotherham Episcopal issue, 1480-83, Spink 2135. A rarer type in very nice grade but what elevates this coin are the four extremely clear obverse devices. Edward IV coinage is usually atrocious, either being heavily clipped or, which is actually more often than not the case, simply struck on inadequate, small planchets or flans, seemingly in order to defraud the country in favour of the church, or in this case, Archbishop Rotherham. If you read Lord Stewartby's excellent reference work, ENGLISH COINS 1180-1551, he states, "The flow of ill-struck and often illegible pence from the northern Episcopal mints continued unabated." Lord Stewartby goes on to describe a fully recorded episode where one northern archbishop was actually charged with this heinous act - that person was none other than Archbishop Thomas Rotherham of York himself! The arrest came in 1483 just as Richard III took control of the crown (the royal chronology was Edward IV’s very young son, Edward V, was locked away in the Tower under torture and subsequently a horrible death, although never proven, under the hands of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Edward IV’s younger brother - the future Richard III. King Richard didn’t last that long, whatever your feelings are on that are, as a result of Henry seizing the crown upon the battlefield of Bosworth, effectively ending the medieval period and heralding the start of the Tudors). Richard III was clearly more proactive than his predecessor and so, seeing that there was clearly a problem "up north" - a problem which directly affected him as king - sought to remedy it. It is testament to the power of the church at the time that in the light of so much hard evidence in the form of "ill-struck and often illegible (northern) pence", Archbishop Thomas Rotherham of York was quickly released without charge. A significant and outstanding coin even though it emanates from the second reign, and therefore the height of the "troubles" at the mint. SOLD

WSC-7945: Rare Mint Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. First coinage, Long Cross & Stars. Obverse: +ALEXANDER REX, reverse: +SIMO Nh ARER. The rare Ayr mint. c.1250-80, although as this is a Type III coin, it will be towards the beginning part of that timeframe. Spink 5043. A most unusual reverse moneyer and mint variation for two reasons:

1) There is unusual ligation, namely the I and M of Simon and the O and N of Simon - bizarrely, there is ligation here even though the voided long cross separates the two letters completely!

2) There is no "ON" separating the moneyer and mint, just an anomalous letter "h"; something I've never seen before.

There are only two examples of this mint listed on the EMC database, one being truly awful. £495 SOLD

WSC-7112: David 1^st Early Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. 1124-53. In fact David 1^st coins were the first Scottish coins to be officially issued. Period D, posthumous issue struck under Malcolm IV. Spink 5010 with better workmanship on the dies and although the legends were meaningless, they were at least composed of properly formed letters. Obverse: crowned bust right with sceptre, legend reads: +NRVOIL; reverse: cross fleurdelisse, pellets in angles, +.NR. 1.29g, die rotation 10h, SCBI 35, 9ff; B 27, fig.8A – same obverse die. Tentatively attributed to the Roxburgh mint. Slightly bent but otherwise extraordinarily good grade for this issue at nearly VF. Indeed, not only have I never seen another coin approaching this grade in the hand, I also have seen nothing as good in reference books. The National Museum in Edinburgh have no examples and the x5 period D examples shared between the Hunterian (Glasgow) and the Ashmolean (Oxford), one of which is a cut quarter, are not a patch on this one – the portrait of David is absolutely stunning. A rare and important coin. SOLD

WMH-7852: Henry V Hammered Silver Medieval Long Cross Penny. House of Lancaster, York mint. Initial mark a clear pierced cross; mullet & trefoil by the crown - class F, Spink 1788. A surprisingly large flan. You'll be aware that Henry IV and V pennies are generally not the best. To have the above three devices so clear, and to have a coin in such remarkable grade (the two things don't aways go together!) is rare indeed. Further, York minted coins that were far from the quality of London pennies so I suppose it's even more remarkable that this coin is as good as it is. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, and knew it, just before they went on to defeat the French. Hurrah! A significant coin. SOLD

WSax-7718: Offa, Kings of Mercia Hammered Silver Penny. Light coinage, non portrait issue with the king’s name across the obverse field. South-Eastern mint, probably either Canterbury or London although Ethelwald has not been definitively attributed whereas other moneyers are tentatively attributed to either Canterbury or London, and in some cases, either Rochester or even East Anglian mints. 1.04g, 17mm, 0 hrs. Spink 904, North 287. Slightly porous but of apparent good silver content, ringing pleasingly when dropped. Unusual pellet combinations in forked ends – the obverse having only a single pellet in each fork whilst the reverse has three in each. SOLD

WJC-7713: Charles 1st Hammered Silver Civil War Era Hafcrown. Group III third horseman, initial mark (P), 1643-4. 3a3 and importantly for the Civil War link, struck at the Tower Mint under Parliament. Spink 2778. A high grade example of this often poorly struck issue – the dies of 3a3 were all of cruder workmanship, presumably as a result of the troubled times. Two point of interest: a) At 14.53g, this is clearly underweight (should be 15g) but there is no evidence whatsoever of clipping. Again, this is either down to the preoccupation of the war or even deliberate cost-cutting? b) There is a bevelled area on the obverse, where the ground line should be, and a second, perpendicular to this one, running vertically up through the horses head. These (and two others which are not apparent) show us that this coin was struck x4 times. You might be thinking why the extra three? Well, pennies could be struck with a single hit but thick silver planchets such as this required multiple strikes to get the die cuttings onto the coin. In my opinion, it’s nice to see such indicators. A stunning coin. SOLD

WCom-7714: 1651 Commonwealth Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Sun so struck under the Protectorship of Oliver Cromwell – later Anchor coins were under his son, Richard Cromwell. 2.92g. Spink 3219. ESC lists three varieties: 51/49, 51 with no stops at the initial mark and a straight 51. This is none of those. Three point of interest, other than the obvious high grade nature of this coin: a) The obverse is a 1649 die and the reverse is a most interesting 1650 die with a modified date of 1651 (thanks to the wonderful and very knowledgeable Sun&Anchor for this), meaning that this coin was struck using a die from a year that doesn’t exist!! They did prepare 1650 dies but no silver coins were struck. b) The obverse (non dated side), has a little bit of double striking going on but really, only apparent on the N and H of COMMONWEALTH. The N is very localised, not affecting the two letters either side. The H, however, is a different matter altogether – the H is literally UNDERNEATH the F of OF (how would that work for double striking?!) and further, the F over the H is a SMALLER F than the F of OF! See image. c) The reverse S of VS is struck over a V. There is no indication of double striking on this side. See image. A superb coin - high grade, interesting and choice. £1,850 SOLD