A selection of some of the
better / more interesting coins SOLD through
HistoryInCoins.com
in 2025
WSC-9002: Bonnie
Prince Charlie Scottish Jacobite Medal - 1749. The Legitimacy of Jacobite
Succession. A highlander squares up with
the legend, "Who can contend with me?
I will leave no stone unturned to obtain that". The reverse an expanded rose with the legend,
"My affairs are at issue" - a reference to the Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle which basically meant that the French (the Jacobites only
friendly state at the time) switched from them to George II of England. The French king literally pledged himself to
not permit any member of the Stuart family to reside within his territory. As the French Revolution was still some
decades off, this was a serious problem for the Stuarts. This medal, yet another master class in
symbolism, targeted the Stuart partisans to keep the cause alive in the minds
of their friends, although by this point in history, that was virtually all it
was. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 655/358
(listed as RARE), Eimer 624. Sold with
an old
ticket and an even older Baldwin's envelope.
A recent DNW auction saw one of these sell for £950 hammer (£1,200+
after commission). A rare medal full of
the usual Jacobite symbolism and imagery.
SOLD
WMH-7982: Richard III Very
Late Medieval Hammered Silver FARTHING. Front
facing bust of Richard, [R]ICA[RD]. London mint. S.R. 2171A. Richard III was King of England from 26
June 1483
until his death in August of 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet
dynasty and of its cadet branch, the House of York. His defeat and death at the
Battle of Bosworth Field (it's now thought the actual location of the battle
was several miles away) marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. You
will note from the "A" suffix on the S.R. reference number that it wasn't that
long ago that they thought farthings did not exist for Richard III - indeed,
even Coincraft, which was published in 1999, literally thought they didn't
exist 25 years ago. See image here which
shows the extract from their guide, as well as the old tickets. The most excellent numismatic team of Paul
& Bente Withers, in their seminal publication,
THE GALATA GUIDE TO SMALL CHANGE, 1279-1660, published 2023, state, "All
(fractional Richard III) coins are rare, the farthing exceedingly so." They identify two obverse dies (RICAR DI GRA
REX and RICARD DI GRA REX) from what I believe to be the only two coins they
could source. This one makes three. The website Numista
ranks coins 0-100 in terms of rarity where 0 is common. It won't surprise you to learn that they rank
the Richard III farthing as rarity 100.
Chipped at 12 & 6 o'clock. Of the
greatest rarity and significance. SOLD
WTH-9233: Elizabeth 1st
MILLED or Machine-Made Silver GROAT.
Initial mark Star, undated but circa 1561 only. S.R. 2601.
The following, which I highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st
page, is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, three farthings
and the gold coinage.”
That really doesn't leave a lot of other coins. It is interesting to note that in recent
years, 1562 milled sixpences have been sold at four figures, with a small
percentage achieving close to, if not in excess of, £2,000. Clearly that's a grade thing but
never-the-less, if 1562 milled sixpences in top grade are deemed to be worth £2,000,
what price the other 15% of denominations in good grades?! Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on 10th July 1561. She met with Eloye Mestrelle and viewed his machinery, which sounds like a
euphemism but is not. The visit was
reported to be six hours in length.
Eleven years later, Eloye Mestrelle
was dismissed from the mint in 1572 and just six years after that, he was
executed (hanged) for counterfeiting.
When this milled issue first appeared on the streets of London
in the later months of 1561, it was so different looking to what was in
peoples' pockets at the time that it was met with immediate suspicion and
distrust. People literally bit and bent
the coins to test the metal content. And
then, just a very few months on from the introduction into circulation, the
groats were discontinued, along with the regular hammered groats. A rare coin indeed - the first I've had in
many years, if memory serves - together with giving us a tangible insight into
1561 Tudor life in London! SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen
WMH-7823: Norman Kings
William 1st Official Dies Right Facing Bust Penny.
B.M.C. VII, c.1080-83, Profile / Cross & Trefoils issue, S.R.
1256. +EDPI [ON LIIN] - Eadwi of London. Spink in their 2023, #1256 listing state:
"lead die struck examples exist from the Thames". The current theory is that because these were
struck from official dies, these were paid for passes or customs cheques
allowing travellers passage into central London. Lead would not have survived 1,000 years
unless it was preserved for all of that time in the anaerobic conditions of the
River Thames. I've had a couple of these
in my time - one of which accompanied by a very detailed Jon Mann ticket (Jon
being one of our foremost numismatic researches), but I think this one edges
even that example by grade. Much rarer
than the silver counterparts, probably more interesting in terms of the
history, and yet a fraction of the price.
SOLD
WSC-9202: James III Late
Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.
Fourth coinage, light issue of 1482 only. Edinburgh mint (this issue was only Edinburgh)
with facing bust, imitating the contemporary English issues, initial mark Cross
Fleury with alternating mullets and pellets in the
reverse angles. S.R.5280A. Excellent provenance, the last owner, the
highly respected Ron Kirton, (his ticket here) rating this coin as
"Extremely Rare". Approaching
VF for issue. A very good coin.
Provenance:
ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent
numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish
coinage)
WCom-8155: 1652 Commonwealth
Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial mark Sun, S.R. 3217. Rarer no stop
after THE on the obverse. 1652 is not a
rare year but the output in this year is but a fraction of the output in 1653
and 1656. Very nice grade although the
old, straightened bend has left its mark.
SOLD
WAu-9192: Henry VIII with Katherine
of Aragon Hammered Gold Crown of the Double Rose. Second coinage, 1526-44, circulated at five shillings, 22 ct
gold. London
(Tower) mint. Extra image here.
hK both sides, initial mark Lis, S.R. 2274.
Struck to commemorate the king's marriage to Katherine of Aragon. This was the king's first wife. Katherine was originally betrothed to Henry's
elder brother, Arthur, when she was 3 years old. They married when she was 16, but was widowed
just a few months later. It took Henry
another 7 years to marry Katherine although to be fair, he was only 18 when he
married Katherine! The Irish Harp
coinage of Henry VIII celebrates some wives but not Katherine of Aragon
- she can only be found on this English gold coinage. The marriage was annulled in 1533 so we have
a short window of 1526-33 for this coin to have been struck although it will be
nearer the start of that period for obvious reasons. Ticketed by Spink as Bold VF in grade
but of much more significance is the mounting.
It is typical of Victorian mounts - the coin held loose (although in a
snug fit), sandwiched between two convex crystal glass panels, all held in
place with an outer rim of gold. The
loop is marked 0.375 which gives us a likely date of post 1854, but not too
much after that date based on it being very "High Victorian" in
style. Around this time in London,
much development and building work was being undertaken around the River Thames
area. London
Bridge
was the general area where a now famous Victorian hoard of Tudor coinage was
discovered by workmen. Examples of this
type of mount with this period of coin are well documented as having originated
from this particular hoard. Regulation
was far less stringent 150+ years ago so these hoard coins when unearthed would
probably have been legally sold on to some enterprising individual who clearly
mounted a few for sale to the tourists, probably sold a few to collectors of
the day and may well have melted the rest down to be used as bullion. An extremely interesting coin, both in its
1520's connection to Henry VIII and his first wife, but also with the Victorian
part of its history - this is literally History in a Coin, which sounds
like it should be the name of a website, at least if you pluralise
it! Can be removed from the mount if so
desired, and will show no mounting marks due to the nature of the Victorian
work, or can be admired as-is, either in your cabinet or even around the neck
on a suitable gold chain. A rare
offering indeed. SOLD
Provenance:
ex 1800's London Bridge Hoard
ex Spink
WMH-9216: Richard II
Medieval Hammered Silver Sound Farthing.
Small neat head with no neck (from the same punches as type 9 and 10
Edward III), small letters. +RICARD:REX:AnGL` - Withers type 1, subclass 5. London
mint. The reverse is most interesting in
that it is a Withers type 1, subclass b - the first n of CIVI TAS LOn DOn is inverted. However, Withers does not record this reverse
die where the n is inverted (upside down) but has been corrected to
therefore show n over inverted n.
Initial mark Cross Pattee, S.R. 1703. Lord Stewartby states that Richard
II farthings are rare, with most being struck during the earlier part of the
reign only. Whilst production of gold
throughout the reign remained constant, silver was somewhat erratic and far
from prolific. During the reign of
Richard II (even at the end of Edward III), and most definitely going through
the subsequent reign of Henry IV, silver was haemorrhaging out of England to
the Continent at an alarming rate which was compounded by the fact that the
country was far from awash with silver in the first place - the price of silver
on the Continent was greater than in England and cross-channel merchants were
quick to take advantage. A rare coin
anyway but in this grade and with this provenance, a much rarer coin
still. SOLD
Provenance:
ex G.Drabble collection
(1947)
ex dealer's ticket for £400, purchased circa 1990's
/ early 2000's by ...
ex Geoffrey Cope collection (a well respected,
quality collection, amassed over 50 years)
WJC-9030:
Charles 1st CIVIL
WAR Provincial Mint Hammered Silver Half Groat. Initial mark Plain (small) Cross over Lis. Tower mint
under the Parliament - Civil War provincial Oxford
mint with the iconic reverse Large Plume in the entire field. Morrieson dies B1,
Brooker 965, S.R. 2996. A much nicer coin in the hand compared with
the pitiable images I took. Excellent
provenance. SOLD
Provenance
Ex Clarenden collection, dispersed by...
Ex Bonham's (2006, lot 1437, sold £188)
Ex Spink (2011, lot 254, sold £160 + 30% buyer commission)
Ex Spink, sold 2015 at the London Coin Fair
Ex Tim Owen (his early yellow ticket)
WAu-9097: Anglo-Saxon
Britain Gold Thrymsa or Shilling - Crondall Type.
Witman derived 1 type, circa 620-45 AD. Obverse bust right, a
trident in front. The bust is most
interesting as unlike most of this type, it clearly shows the long hair at the
neck together with the impressive collar.
The reverse is a plain cross in an inner circle surrounded by a
blundered legend. Of excellent gold
content - it was from this point onwards that the gold used for Saxon coinage
was increasingly and progressively "watered down" with silver (the
post Crondall and later European types have that
insipid, debased gold colour about them) until by circa AD 660's, just a single
generation on, they were all entirely silver in metal content. See old
tickets here. The Crondall
(Hampshire) Hoard of 1828 was the single largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold
coins found prior to the 21st century. It
comprised 97 gold coins, together with three unstruck
gold planchets and one gold-plated object that could have been a coin forgery. Of the 97 coins, 73 were Anglo-Saxon Thrymsa and 24 were Merovingian or Frankish tremissis. The
consensus amongst historians is that hoard dates from between AD 635 and about
AD 650. The coins are now in the
collection of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. While it remains on the internet, it's well
worth looking at this forum post: https://www.numisforums.com/topic/1332-the-anglo-saxon-gold-coins-of-the-crondall-hoard/ as it gives an excellent summary of the coinage, as well as having a
good illustration of a die pair to this coin.
All Crondall "Native Anglo-Saxon"
type Thrysmas are rare - even the late "two
emperors" type, which is invariably the one to turn up. Very few gold Saxon coins were minted and
hardly any survived - it would only be through hoards or casual field losses. It is interesting to note the Christian cross
on the reverse. In AD 595, Pope
Gregory the Great chose Augustine to lead a mission to convert the pagan
Anglo-Saxons of Britain to the Christian faith.
Augustine was most likely living as a monk in Rome
at the time. He duly arrived on these
shores in AD 597: Æthelberht
of Kent became the first Anglo-Saxon king to be baptised, around AD 600. He in
turn imposed Christianity on Saebert of Essex and Rædwald of East Anglia. Augustine (later Saint
Augustine) was recorded by Bede as really only talking to the top end of English
society. Columba
and Aiden were the other two recorded in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
who were on a mission to convert Britons to Christianity. Columba was
slightly earlier than Augustine but alas he only focused on Iona
in Scotland. Aiden was the most
effective, according to Bede, as although he set up
the Lindesfarne Monastery (later to be targeted so
infamously by the Vikings), he went out and about, spreading the Gospel to the
common man in the street, and a great many of them. However, he was much later, around AD
634. These coins are tentatively from Kent, 620-45
AD, so it's a working theory that as Æthelberht of
Kent was firmly Christian, his son, Eadbald of Kent
(who, to complicate things a little, was a Christian, then reverted back to his
pagan ways, but ultimately became a Christian king) would also want the
Christian message spreading from beyond the royal palaces - remember, this was
all a bit too early in time for Aiden, and Augustine
was firmly ensconced in royal palaces only.
What better way to spread the word than for a Christian cross to be
emblazoned upon Saxon coinage for all the people to see - the only way really
to get any kind of message to the man in the street in all four corners of the
kingdom. Even if some people never
handled these coins, they were possibly have heard aboyt
them? This is an extremely important and significant Anglo-Saxon gold coin as
well being in remarkably good grade. SOLD
Provenance
ex Sidney & Kenneth Harl
collection...
Purchased from J. Linzalone
(Wolfsheet Gallery) 16th October 2013
for US $9,100
WSC-9189: 1559 Scottish Mary
Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Nonsunt. A twelve
penny groat struck in the second period, 1558-60, under both Mary and her
husband, Francis. It was an issue of half alloy (.5 fine) which was actually quite high considering the Lions of
the same date which were 23/24 alloy - basically base metal. The
obverse crowned heraldic dolphin is facing right so this is S.R.
5447. If you're scratching your head over the derivation of the term
"nonsunt", look
no further than the reverse legend. Rarely seen
these days. SOLD
Provenance:
ex DNW 2021
WMH-9114 (F.LIM): Henry 1st Hammered
Silver Norman Penny - Choice Portrait.
Quadrilateral on Cross Fleury, B.M.C. XV type,
S.R. 1276. +EST[MVN]D:ON:LVND - London
mint; Eastmund as moneyer. A rarer moneyer - only seven examples listed on
the excellent EMC database. Attractive
dark toning and a spectacular portrait of Henry 1st 'Beauclerc'
who was actually only the fourth son of William 1st. The Empress Matilda was Henry's daughter
(along with many illegitimate children), thus the blood line is obvious
although with Henry seizing the English throne over his elder brothers, the
precedent was perhaps already there for Stephen?! From a good
collection. An outstanding Norman penny. SOLD
Provenance
ex Spink
ex Frank Limouze
WSC-9206: Robert 1st
THE BRUCE Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver ROUND Half Penny. Robert 1st, 1306-29. Obv: crowned head left, sceptre before,
beaded circles and legend surrounding, +:ROBERTVS: DEI: GRA: Rev: Long Cross Pattée, pierced mullet of five
points in two quarters, beaded circles +SCO TOR VMR EX, weight 0.68, 1h. S.R. 5077, Stewartby
4f. Rarer than the Robert Bruce pennies,
and they're rare enough! A direct
descendant of David 1st, Robert Bruce 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.
All Robert Bruce coinage is very rare but interestingly, although his
coinage basically copied that of Alexander III's second
issue, whereas Alexander’s coinage is often found VF or better, Robert Bruce’s
coinage (on the rare occasions you do actually see an example) invariably turns
up worn or damaged. This coin comes with
a good bust and an unambiguous regnal reading, often lacking in the smaller
denominations. Very rare. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink (sold July 2019 £1,550)
WMH-8079: Henry II Tealby Hammered Silver Penny. Cross & Crosslets coinage,
class C, circa 1163-67. Lincoln:
+RAVEN[---]. Toned VF, off-struck. Sold with old
tickets. A much above average coin for issue. SOLD
WMH-7848: Henry II "Tealby" Cross & Crosslets Hammered Silver Penny.
Bust Ci, 1163-7. +TVR[S]TEIN[:ON:T]E - Thetford
mint. Provenance ex Lord Stewertby, ex Michael Trenerry. Several of old tickets accompanying this coin. Darkly toned, unusually round (relatively, at
any rate!) for an Eastern mint, unevenly struck but with little wear so not far
off as it was when it left the mint.
S.R. 1339. A nice coin from a
better mint and with the all important Lord Stewertby
provenance. SOLD
WMH-7773: Henry II “Tealby” Cross & Crosslets Hammered Silver Medieval
Penny. Class A1, moneyer Rogier
of Canterbury. S.R. 1337.
This was the first issue upon Henry’s succession to the English thrown
after previously fighting on his mother’s [Empress Matilda’s] side as part of
the Angevin Party during the Civil War. An agreement was made at the end of the war
allowing Stephen to keep the thrown until his death, at which point Henry of Anjou
would become King Henry II. Empress
Matilda died in 1167 in Rouen,
France,
so was able to see the fruits of her labours.
A very nice example of this nearly always indifferent at best
issue. SOLD
WMH-9076: Unique and
High Grade Henry 1st Hammered Silver Norman Penny. Small profile / cross &
annulets type, B.M.C. XII, circa 1119 only. S.R. 1273.
+GODPINVS ON PAL - Godwine on Wallingford. Recorded on the excellent EMC / SCBI database
as 2023.0391 (incidentally, if ever there was proof that the actual coins I
sell are better in the hand than they are in my infamous images, just look at
the EMC image of this coin!). Found West
Lindsey in Lincolnshire
in 2023. There are only two B.M.C. XII
coins recorded; this coin and a cut half.
The cut half is moneyer OSWVLF making this coin, with moneyer GODPINVS,
the only recorded example. Before 2023, Godwine was known for B.M.C. X and B.M.C. XIII but not
this B.M.C. XII issue. I should point
out at this juncture that the dates of issue of Henry 1st coinage do not follow
in an exact chronological order. It
goes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,7,8,11,10,12,13,14,15, meaning that this B.M.C. XII coin
was predated by B.M.C. X and post dated by B.M.C. XIII. The discovery of this coin (and it is just
this single coin) fills in what we strongly suspected (but could not prove),
that Godwine was a moneyer at Wallingford
and issuing coinage continuously through these periods: 10,12,13 or to put
dates to those issues, 1117 through 1121.
Official test cut at 8
o'clock on the obverse - this practice
was ordered halfway through B.M.C. 6 and it continued until B.M.C. 14, taking
the form of an edge incision or “snick”, as seen on this coin. For those that are interested, the government
finally sought to put this problem to bed in 1124 by ordering a “purge of
moneyers” throughout England. A rare and important coin that will appeal to
both grade and rarity collectors alike. SOLD
WSax-9144: Outstanding Middle
Saxon OFFA PORTRAIT Hammered Silver Penny. Kings of Mercia. Light coinage,
c.780-96, London mint, moneyer IBBA,
S.R.905 This reference encompasses many different reverses, this one
being termed a Floriate cross with lozenge centre
reverse – North 301. Many historians regard Offa
as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great. His dominance
never extended to Northumbria, though he gave his daughter Ælfflæd
in marriage to the Northumbrian king Æthelred I in
792. Historians once saw his reign as part of a process leading to a unified
England but more recent thinking, including that by the historian Simon Keynes,
sums up the king's reign thus: "Offa was
driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity; and what he left was
a reputation, not a legacy," which actually
makes Offa sound like a quite good ruler when
compared to what came before and definitely what came after! Weight 1.01 grams. Graded GVF on the old ticket - outstanding
edges, high grade with slight porosity, commensurate
with a field-find of this age.. Note that we don't have usual crystallisation
of the silver alloy that is normally seen on these early issues. A superb example. SOLD
WJC-9113: CHOICE 1646
Charles 1st Hammered Silver Shilling - BRIDGNORTH-on-SEVERN.
Late declaration Civil War coin.
Initial mark Plume over a very clear ligated
BR, plumelet before the king, XII behind. Reverse with a scroll above the
declaration. Bridgnorth-on-Servern.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Bridgnorth-on-Severn mints have a close
association with Bristol. It is thought that after Bristol
surrendered in September of 1645, the moneyers upped sticks and ended up at the
two above locations, first Ashby and then Bridgnorth, again plying their trade
as moneyers but crucially, using altered Bristol
dies. The halfcrowns adopted A and B
initials under the horse. It should be
noted here that both Ashby and Bridgnorth are tentative attributions - I refer
the reader to the Ashby-de-la-Zouch shilling (WJC-8075) listed on this
website and the accompanying write up.
This example, benefiting enormously from its high grade, is actually
S.R. 3040, not 3039 (or 3039a) as stated. It is very much an altered Bristol
obverse die, hence the initial mark Plume over a very clear ligated
BR, but where S.R. 3039A has nothing in front of the king's face, this coin has
a somewhat crude plume added. As such,
this would appear to have started out life as a Bristol
obverse die, was then taken to Ashby-de-la-Zouch (or wherever mint
"A" was, if indeed it even was a fixed location) when Bristol
fell, where it probably had some use producing the Ashby S.R. 3031. It was then transported to Bridgnorth-on-Servern (the same caveat as Ashby, but this time
mint "B"), when Ashby fell on 26th April 1646, where it possibly saw
some use producing S.R. 3039A before finally being altered one more time to
give both a plume before the face and a plumelet as
an initial mark - S.R. 3040. Quite a
journey! Of equal significance, being
already alluded to above, is the grade of this coin, especially after the die
had been through so much. A bold VF
(your bog-standard straight VF price in S.R. is £3,500) being bright and
lustrous with a hint of cabinet toning.
That's erring on the conservative side - I rate this coin as being not
far off EF in grade, albeit with a slight double strike on the obverse, as a
lot of these Bridgnorth coins seemed to attract. If not the best example known by grade (I
think the Brooker example was fairly comparable), certainly top three. It would be an interesting exercise to see
how the likes of NGS assess the grade of this coin. Finally, the all important
provenance. In 1913, immediately prior to the onset of
World War One, Alfred Leonard Fuller of Bath
(born 1870, died 1941) purchased this coin, by private treaty, for the princely
sum of exactly one pound. Most
unusually, that coin stayed within the same collection, within the same family,
for well over 100 years! Choice, choice,
choice! SOLD
WMH-7899: Stephen Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. Voided cross and stars type, B.M.C. 2. 1145-50.
+RODBERT:ON:RIS - Castle
Rising mint in North Norfolk, very close to the famous Snettisham site where all those fabulous Celtic gold
torques (not to mention hoards of Celtic coins) came from. Whilst the site at Snettisham
is underwhelming, I strongly recommend a visit to Castle Rising. There's not much there but the hairs on the
back of your neck most certainly go up, even when you're driving past on the
bypass. Castle Rising is mentioned in
the Doomsday Book. It was later granted
to William de Albini, whose son built a castle
there. Stephen was the only monarch to
mint coins at Castle Rising, issuing BMC II, VI and VII pennies and cut
halves. Castle Rising BMC II coins account
for only x5 of the x19 recorded examples (only x1 BMC II is a full coin and
this coin is superior to that recorded full example) with BMC VI having x10
recorded and BMC VII just x4. This
Stephen type, together with BMC VI, were only issued in the Eastern part of England
which was under Royal control. BMC VII
was a nationwide issue. S.R. 1280, North
878, Mack 56, SCBI (East
Anglia) 1459. Provenance: DNW 2020, Sovereign Rarities
(sold for £5,750), St George Collection.
See
tickets here. Inconsequential surface stress mark to the
reverse. Richly toned, a bold portrait,
good legends, an extremely rare mint town.
Good VF. You will not find a
better example of this extremely rare, iconic coin. Choice by anyone's definition. SOLD
WMH-7440: Henry 1st
NORMAN Hammered Silver FACING BUST / CROSS FLEURY Penny. B.M.C. X,
1117 only: +ALFRED ON PEVE – Alfred of Pevensey. S.R. 1271.
Where to start with this one! It
is a stray coin from the famous Beauvais Hoard, sold
by a French dealer to Peter Mitchell of Baldwins
in 1987 and therefore not listed in the sale of that hoard in the same
year. Sold privately to Dr William Conte
late 1988. We talk in terms of hundreds,
perhaps even thousands of coins for entire reigns being recorded at specific
mints. For this mint, Pevensey (literally built on the site of a Roman
fortification on the spot where William the Conqueror happened to land in 1066,
on route to an appointment he had at Hastings),
this is one of only four recorded examples.
Just to be clear, there are only four Pevensey
coins for all of the Henry 1st coinage (only a type IX and
this type X shown on EMC) and there are only thirteen Pevensey
mint coins recorded on EMC for every single monarch, ever. Old tickets here.
A once in a lifetime coin. SOLD
WSC-6793:
Alexander III
Rarer 1st Issue STIRLING Mint Penny. Long cross
& stars, 1250-80. hO(N) RI. ON^S TR – Henri of Stirling. Type III, SCBI 35, 137/A, S.R. 5043. Old collection piece. A rare Scottish mint. SOLD
WJC-7941: Charles 1st Hartelbury Castle Late Provincial Civil War Halfcrown.
From the excessively rare Hartlebury Castle,
Worcester
mint with initial mark pear/three pears. Struck 1646. Obverse: CAROLVS · D : G
· MAG · BRI[T · F]RAN · ET · HIB · REX - Charles on horseback left, holding
reins with left hand and sword in right.
Reverse: CH[RISTO : AVSPIC]E : REGNO - garnished coat-of-arms; H C in
lower garnish. Bull 679 (same dies); Brooker 1137 (same dies); North 2626; S.R.
3129 (plate coin same dies) - you've guessed it; there was only a single pair
of dies cut. All examples appear to have
been struck en medaille. The Brooker coin is perhaps the overall best example
in private hands. It was 14.92g. The Colin Adams example (14.81g) was better grade
(abt EF) but it was on a very irregular flan and not struck up at all at 6 o'clock
(both sides). It sold for $22,500. The Hulett example
(I only mention it as it is a significant coin through provenance alone) is a
lesser grade coin and the Cumberland Clark example, whilst comparable in grade
to this coin, suffers from the usual irregular flan and some significant
obverse field gauges. This coin, being
as regular in shape as you're ever likely to see, is ex Roderick Richardson
(described as "Strong strike on obv, Toned
& Good Very Fine. Very Rare"), selling for £6,750 several
years ago. The market has roared ahead
since then, perhaps more so than at any other period. Accompanied with this old sale's cutting.
Hartlebury
Castle,
the residence of the Bishop of Worcester, was fortified and held by Charles
1st's Royalist supporters throughout the Civil War (1642-1646) by a garrison of
120 men commanded by Captain William Sandys. In 1646,
Colonel Thomas Morgan, under Tomas Fairfax, besieged the castle. Though prepared for a lengthy siege, the
castle actually surrendered without a single shot being fired after being
besieged by the Parliamentarians for only two days, which is
definitely not that long a period to both cut dies and produce emergency
besieged coinage along the lines of Newark
and Pontefract!! It will come as no
surprise to anyone to learn that they only produced halfcrowns and only a tiny
handful at that. In summary, this is one
of the best examples of a Hartelbury
Castle
halfcrown available to commerce, being GVF and problem-free. SOLD
WJC-9029:
1643 Charles 1st
CIVIL WAR Hammered Silver Declaration Half Crown. Initial mark Acorn between x4 pellets / BR over BR. Tower mint under the Parliament - Civil War
provincial Bristol
mint. Brooker 973, S.R. 3006.
The generic reverse "Declaration", deriving from the one
Charles 1st made at Wellington, Shropshire in September of
1642, basically continues to promise to uphold three things: the Protestant
religion, the laws of England and the liberty
of Parliament. I imagine that in
hindsight, when this coin was struck, just two years after he made that
promise, Charles would have had serious doubts as to how wise he was to include
the last bit of the promise although to be fair, he probably had more important
things going on in his head at the time (something else he would lose in
January 1649)! A most interesting
feature of this coin is the reverse: a small BR overstruck on a large
BR! The Brooker example does not
over this overstamp.
High grade, good weight, the possibly unique small BR overstruck on a
large BR variety and an excellent provenance, being from a Civil War coin
hoard. SOLD
Provenance
Ex Ansty (Dorset) Civil War Hoard, 2019 -
comprised of x234 coins, dispersed by...
Ex Spink
WJC-9012: Charles 1st
1643/4 Civil War Provincial Mint Half Crown. EBOR below king on rearing horse – York
mint. Type 6, third horseman, initial
mark Lion (ii), 227.7 grains, S.R. 2868, Bull 572, Besly
3-E. A most impressive selection of old
tickets / provenance (see here and here).
This coin was the plate coin in Maurice Bull’s seminal publication, The
Halfcrowns of Charles 1st.
Described as VF on Maurice Bull’s ticket. SOLD
Provenance:
July 1971 dealer ticket (£50 increased to £65)
ex Spink Circular (November 1974)
ex Maurice Bull collection (plate coin)
ex MH Coins
WJC-8075: 1645 Charles 1st
ASHBY-de-la-ZOUCH Hammered Silver Declaration Shilling.
Crowned bust of Charles, left, mark of value behind. Ashby-de-la-Zouch mint town.
Late declaration of the reverse, initial mark Plume, "A"
particularly clear below. 5.87g, 30
degrees die rotation, Morris A-1, S.R. 3031 (the rarer of the two recorded
dies). Brooker was unable to source this
variety, which in itself is astounding considering the comprehensiveness of
that collection, not to mention his resources, only having the lesser plumelet-before-king example (Brooker 1120). For those interested, "A" (Ashby)
and "B" (Bridgnorth) coins are subject to some discussion as to
whether the geographical attributions are actually correct or not. A and B mint coins are certainly linked (following
the fall of Ashby on 28th February 1646, the garrison then marched to
Bridgnorth which fell on 26th April 1646), although saying that, there are no
recorded, unambiguous B over A coins, which we might expect. These "A" coins, whilst S.R. is
saying Ashby-de-la-Zouch, are the subject of much numismatic and historical
debate: Most examples (and admittedly
they are very rare indeed) turn up along the Welsh Borders or in Wales (I'm
cognisant of an unsubstantiated tale of an Ashby shilling being found literally
in the church wall at Ashby by workmen last century but it may well be
apocryphal), which is absolutely nowhere near Ashby. Abergavenny has
been put forward as an alternative but with nothing other than circumstantial
evidence, so far. However, the silver
content of A and B mint coins have a higher than required silver content - metrology
indicates that the silver is finer than .925 and so the source could well be
captured and subsequently recycled ducatoons which
were .950 fine. This would require the
mint to be at or near a port, a box Ashby-de-la-Zouch most definitely does not
tick but one Abergavenny does. I recommend this discussion thread: https://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/5516-civil-war-a-mint-discussion/
. Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Abergavenny, some other
"A" city, or indeed an "on-the-hoof", non fixed town
"A" mark - it doesn't really matter in terms of the actual coin
because location will be resolved at some point in the future. For the moment, we go with S.R. and
Ashby-de-la-Zouch. One of the tickets
suggests the coin was fashioned from a silver spoon (along the lines of the Newark
siege pieces). I seem to recall having a
conversation with Dave Sims about this many years ago, so it's probably his
ticket. A good provenance
with various old tickets. Graded about VF, which is all the more
impressive when you discover that the issue, miniscule though it was, was
poorly executed at both die and mint stage.
Indeed, the S.R. plate coin, presumed the best example S.R. could lay
their hands on with their vast resources, is a full grade down from this coin
(the "A" is barely discernable), something you don't see very
often! A rare offering indeed. SOLD
Provenance:
ex DNW (2013)
ex Tim Owen
ex Dave Sims collection
ex HistoryInCoins
ex Simon Mote collection
ex Baldwins?
WJC-9181: 1644/3 WORCESTER Charles 1st Hammered
Silver DECLARATION Halfcrown. Obverse
depicting Charles 1st on horseback, left, with the all important Worcester Declaration
on the reverse - initial mark two Lions, a small W below the horse (to the
right of the straight leg - the left diagonal of the W is still visible). The date is 1644 but the entire reverse die
was acquired from Bristol and altered by changing the date from 1643 to 1644 (they
actually added the 4 a total of three times, just to be sure!) and adding the
W, a very similar process to the Ashby de la Zouch
dies. Just like with Ashby, experts and
academics are still far from certain Worcester is the mint town - it always used to be classified as Weymouth. All Worcester halfcrowns are extremely rare with the few scant examples
nearly always being poorly struck and with an overall crude appearance. These were struck bang in the middle of the
Civil War where quality control was absolutely not any kind of
consideration. Two things seriously
elevate this coin. The first is the
provenance (see the original Baldwin
ticket here and the other ticket
here) going right back to 1852.
The coin is still visible on the internet at its last point of public
sale; the Baldwin's auction (11th December 2024, lot 84 - hammer £3,000 with
after commissions close to £4,000, their information sheet copied above). Secondly, if you are lucky enough to be able
to acquire any Charles 1st Worcester coin, of any denomination, this is the only
variety of any of those denominations with the reverse declaration
- there are quite a few Worcester halfcrown varieties but only this one with this
reverse! As such, this type is keenly
sought after by collectors and major institutions alike. A rare coin, seldom offered for sale on the
open market. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Sotherby sale, June
1854 ... sold to
ex J.D.Cuff collection
ex A & E Wigan collection ... dispersed via
ex Rollin & Feuardent
(1872)
ex J.F. Neck collection... sold to
ex H. Webb collection (1884) ... dispersed via
ex Southerby's (July 1894)
... sold to
ex H. Montagu collection
... dispersed via Southerby's (13th November 1896)
ex Baldwin's
(1950's ticket for £11/10/-) ... sold to
ex Frank Raphael Waley,
OBE, MC, collection (1893-1987)
ex Waley family by decent
... dispersed via
ex Baldwin's
(2024)
WI-9063: Henry VIII with
Anne Boleyn Hammered Silver Irish Groat. Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, the second and probably most famous of his
six wives. S.R. 6472. The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue,
1534-40 and the rarest of the three wives mentioned on silver coinage,
irrespective as to what S.R.
claim. Dated to 1534-5, in commemoration of a
marriage that lasted just three years, produced the future Queen Elizabeth 1st
but ultimately ended in Anne losing her head, quite literally, because she
could not produce a male heir. This issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with later issues going the
same way as that of the English silver coinage under Henry, ie
downhill. This is only the third Anne Boleyn groat I've had,
the first I remember selling within minutes of it being listed. A rare coin and in exceptional grade for issue, other than a slight
crease and split at 1 o'clock obverse, being the very best grade example
I've ever had. SOLD
WTH-8138: Edward VI Hammered
Silver DURHAM HOUSE Shilling. Second debased issue, initial mark Bow,
undated but circa 1548-50. Durham
House. S.R.
2472. Old (unidentified) tickets from
someone who knew what they were doing: correctly identified as on the
tickets...type 5 bust 2. See Bispham classification in BNJ 1985, table 4, pgs 138-9
& plate 2, #6. Bispham
gave Durham House dies a separate classification from the Tower dies. Thank you to Rich Mooney's numismatic
expertise (and Joe Bisphan's!) on this one. Only the second Durham
House shilling I have ever had and this one the better of the two. A rarer coin in very nice grade for
issue. SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Ian Davidson (yellow ticket)
Ex ??? (old tickets)
WTH-8151: Edward VI Tudor Hammered Silver PORTRAIT
Penny. First period, April 1547 - January 1549, a
billon silver, or base silver issue. London (Tower) mint,
obverse legend starting E.D.G. (but with unusual mascles / lozenges as
stops). S.R. 2460.
Billon silver was all about make a profit for the king and
government. Experiments in creating a
debased silver coin that would be accepted by the public (ie in an age where
very much the value of any coin was absolutely equivalent to the value of the
metal in said coin, that was then not going to be the case) were
undertaken in Ireland in the 1530's. The
temptation was too great in England and debasement
was started under that third coinage of Henry VIII and didn't stop until
1551. Several debased issues were
actually not accepted by the public and these had to be addressed, usually by a
revaluation. The obvious example of this
for Edward VI was the third issue base pennies and halfpennies which were so
debased, and so bad looking (the mint was seriously getting carried away at
this point, thinking they could do anything) that they were revalued as
halfpennies and farthings respectively.
One final thing: the base silver coins, blanched in acid by the mint to
improve their surface upon issue from the mint, soon became discoloured and
blotchy in use. The larger denominations
(Testoons and Groats), through wear on the high relief parts of their design,
revealed the inner (non-silver) content to a seriously fed-up public and also
to a not very pleased monarch. The
comptroller (from the misspelling and misuse of the word
"controller," derived from the Latin word, "contrarotulator,"
which means "keeper of a duplicate roll" and not an American word as
some think it is) at the Tower and Southward during 1544-8, a certain Parson
Brock, was literally chided not only for presiding over the debasement as a
priest, but also for having given his monarch and sovereign a red, copper
nose! This penny, bearing in mind its
debased nature, has one of the very best portraits I've ever seen on a penny -
incidentally, although the silver content of the coinage was literally being
stolen by the authorities, the engravers were coming up with some of the best
designs thus far to go on the not-so-silver coinage! A rare coin and in this grade, a lot rarer
still. SOLD
WTH-8143: Exceptional Henry
VIII Hammered Silver First Coinage Groat.
Profile right of the King's father, Henry VII, initial mark Crowned T -
the excessively rare Tournai mint. S.R. 2317. Henry VIII rode victoriously into the city of
Tournai
in Western Belgium
on September
25th, 1513, aged just 22, ten days after his
troops had first invested the city. The
sense of triumph was somewhat misplaced as in truth, the city was protected by
volunteers with no training and antiquated cannon that was much more a danger
to the user than the intended victim.
Coinage was minted from Tournai, in miniscule
numbers compared with back home in London,
with a very symbolic initial mark T with an English crown over it. S.R. dates the entire issue to 1513. Interestingly, the dies were thought to have
been shipped back to London
where the initial mark was overstruck with a portcullis, potentially meaning
that your relatively common first coinage portcullis groat was struck from the
famous Tournai dies!
It is rare indeed to find a Tournai groat but
to find one in this grade and, most importantly, with both initial marks as
clear as day, is extremely rare. Old tickets here.
A very rare offering indeed. SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Spink, September 1998 (£1,950) - that's x26 years
ago!
Ex Baldwins
Ex James P. Rosen collection
WMH-9180: Rare Henry IV Hammered Silver HALFGROAT. Light coinage, 1412-13 only, London mint, annulet (filled on the die to create a very large
pellet) to the left of the crown with a pellet to the right. It is interesting to note that this die was
cut specifically for Henry IV whilst the other Henry IV halfgroat die ( annulet
and pellet reversed) is actually an altered Richard II die. The altered die
omits FRANC from the legend whilst the true Henry IV die includes it, albeit in
an abbreviated form. S.R.1730. There was a severe shortage
of bullion in England with prices on the Continent significantly more, thus silver coinage
moved abroad by metaphorical osmosis.
What little remaining coinage there was suffered extreme wear through
circulation as well as at the hands of the clippers – a practise intensified
during this period by the silver crisis.
Halfgroats were struck in tiny quantities and thus it's not any great
surprise to any of us that they are an incredibly rare denomination today,
rarer in my opinion than Henry IV groats (certainly fewer die iterations),
although possibly not in terms of current market value. SOLD
WJC-9165: Charles 1st Hammered Silver Full
Crown with Important Provenance. The Welsh Plumes crown. Tower mint under the king, Gp.II, type 2b1, initial mark Plume, 1630-31, S.R. 2756. Provenance going back to 1916 when this coin
was illustrated in BNJ (Silver Coins of the Tower Mint of Charles, Part One,
The Crowns, pp 181-194 and plates 1-5 with plate 2, fig. 4 being this coin) by
Grant R. Francis - there are still hints of the red wax to be found on this
coin from that process. John William
Gaze owned this coin pre WW2 - his collection dispersed May 1935 just before
his death. Gaze was a Nottingham man who invented
the ring plug to go on WW1 shells but antithetical to that was his work at the
outset of the war: he designed the 'Scarlet Pimpernel' Red Cross flower, which
resulted in nearly £9,000 being raised for the purpose of purchasing motor
ambulances for the Army. They proved of great service in removing the wounded,
and as a slight acknowledgement of his services in this direction, the Mayor of
Nottingham, on behalf of the Buffaloes, presented Mr. Gaze with a gold jewel on
15 November 1917. Not resting on his laurels, it was Mr. Gaze
who originated the idea of the badge scheme, which was submitted to Winston
Churchill and later adopted for all war workers. See large image here for various details.
A very desirable coin for a variety of reasons. SOLD
Provenance:
1916 - Grant R. Francis submitted this coin for
illustration and reference in BNJ, "Silver Coins of the Tower Mint of
Charles, Part One, The Crowns"
1920 (24th March) sold through Glendinings,
lot 106 (£2,12,6), described at "A rare variety"
1920 (24th March) bought by John William Gaze
1935 (22nd-23rd May) sold through Glendinings,
this coin not listed in their catalogue, presumed sold privately to Baldwin clients
pre-sale. See here
1985 - ex T. Matthews, sold to the Haddenham
Collection
2023 - ex Spink's dispersal of
the Haddenham Collection
2023 - ex HistoryInCoins,
sold for £2,985 ...
2023
- ex John Williams' collection
WSC-9188: 1559 Scottish Mary
Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Nonsunt. A twelve
penny groat struck in the second period, 1558-60, under both Mary and her
husband, Francis. It was an issue of half alloy (.5 fine) which was actually quite high considering the Lions of
the same date which were 23/24 alloy - basically base metal. The
obverse crowned heraldic dolphin is facing left (it's my belief that
left facing is the rarer of the two) so this is S.R. 5448. If you're
scratching your head over the derivation of the term "nonsunt", look no further than the reverse
legend. Rarely seen these days. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink (December 1967 - sold for £6)
WSC-9119: 1567 Mary Stewart Hammered
Silver Ryal or Crookeston
Dollar. Fifth period, 1567 only. Edinburgh mint. S.R.
5429. This was Mary's second period of
widowhood, which might lead you to believe that she was perhaps unlucky in love
but, considering the bigger picture, that was perhaps one of her lesser
problems. Henry Darnley was assassinated
10th
February 1567. This particular year is a numismatic anomaly
in that it saw an issue from Mary & Henry as well as this single year issue
from just Mary. You would perhaps think
that because Henry Darnley died only six weeks into 1567 that the joint issue
would be the rarest. In fact, that is
not the case - this 1567 single monarch issue is the rarer of the two. The reclining "9" at the end of the
reverse legend was a contemporary device for indicating a contraction - we
would today use an apostrophe. It's
something you rarely see but when it does pop up, it's usually associated with
James VI / James 1st coinage. There is a
shilling of James 1st listed on this website with the very same feature. Some very old graffiti on the reverse
field. A rare issue, rarer so with the
reclining "9" at the end of the reverse legend. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Simon Monks & Brian Reed (S&B Coins), 1996
Ex Baldwin's -
their ticket, incorrectly attributed
WSax-9183: Cnut Hammered Silver
Late Saxon Penny. B.M.C.
VIII - Quatrefoil type (1017-23),
+ELBRHTGIP. S.R.
1157. Ipswich mint, moneyer Aetheberht. In 1014 the Danish fleet proclaimed
Cnut king of England
but the natives thought otherwise and he was forced to leave. Interestingly, this shows Aethelred as not a
subservient and weak monarch; rather a decisive, fighting monarch. Perhaps the potential loss of his thrown was
a bridge too far?! Aethelred's
son, Eadmund Ironside,
continued the defiance towards the Vikings but upon his death on 1016, Cnut became undisputed king of England
, a position which Cnut firmly consolidated a year
later by marrying Emma of Normandy, Aethelred's
widow. History suggests that Emma and Cnut's marriage, though begun as a political strategy,
became an affectionate affair. During their marriage, Emma and Cnut had a son, Harthacnut, and a daughter, Gunhilda. An East Anglian Episcopal mint coin with the
usual atypical features often seen on coins from this part of the country -
pellets to the obverse, almost non-existent quatrefoil to the reverse. Sold with a plethora of old tickets (see here). A very nice coin with provenance going back
25+ years. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Sidney & Kenneth Harl
collection
ex Coin Galleries, April 1999
WCom-6440: 1652 over 1
Commonwealth Hammered Silver Shilling. A 1651 obverse with a 1651 altered date (51
to 52) reverse. Also no stop after GOD
making this an unlisted and unrecorded variety (see www.sunandanchor.com). SOLD
WMH-9184: Choice Henry II Tealby
Hammered Silver Penny. Short cross
"Cross & Crosslets" first coinage, +ALWIN.[ON.]LVND - London,
class A (circa 1158-63) with no hair or collar.
S.R. 1337. Immediately following
on from Stephen. Henry of Anjou became
Henry II upon the death of Stephen - a monarch who had an extremely tenuous
claim to the throne and who only stayed as king because he agreed to let
Stephen, Matilda's son, to ascend upon his death - and even though an
impressive 29 mints were opened to produce coinage, the quality was just as poor,
maybe even worse, as the Stephen coinage.
Of those 29 mints, only around a third continued after Henry's recoinage
to the voided short cross and come the later long cross issues, far fewer than
that. Graded at Good VF for issue, if
not a touch better. You just do not see Tealby coins as good as this - even the two northern mints
of Newcastle and Carlisle, mints where you'd expect to see better grade
examples, are generally not as good as this coin. The July 2025 Noonan's sale witnessed about a
dozen Tealby pennies from a decent collection go
through the block. All were fairly
average for type with none coming remotely close to the quality of grade of
this coin. SOLD
WI-9182: A superb Irish James 1st Hammered
Silver Shilling. Second
coinage, third bust with the square cut beard, initial mark Martlet,
S.R.6515. The English James 1st coinage
is generally abysmal, particularly the sixpences, and the Irish seems to have
fared no better. A quick look at the
Spink / Sovereign Rarity plate coins will show you just how good a coin this
shilling is. SOLD
WSC-8145: James 1st Medieval Scottish Hammered
Silver Groat. First fleur-de-lis issue, 1406-37 but early
on in that reign for this first issue. Edinburgh mint. Sceptre to the left - S.R. 5195.
The price of silver rose steadily throughout Europe during this
period which caused problems with all of Europe’s coinage, not
least Scotland’s. Their solution was to issue billon “watered
down” silver for the lower denominations and to increase the value of the
groats (there were no halfgroats under James 1st) from fourpence
to sixpence. All the silver issues were poorly struck AND experienced
considerable circulatory wear and damage because there simply wasn't enough
coinage to go around - there was insufficient bullion at the mint to issue
fresh coin and what coinage there was in circulation often found its way onto
the continent (and thus the melting pot) as either a fourpence
or sixpence coin here was worth much more in pure bullion content. Coincraft states: "All (groat)
issues are rare, especially the ones from provincial mints. Coins were often poorly struck and are rarely
found in better than Fine condition." Old tickets here. This coin is
arguably overall better than the S.R.
plate coin, that being the vest best they could source with all the leading
collections they have access to.
Rare. SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Leland Scott collection
WAu-9046: 1602 James VI Hammered Gold Sword
& Sceptre Piece of 120 Shillings. Eighth gold
coinage (1601-4), struck in 22ct gold whilst James was still only James VI of Scotland. Edinburgh mint. Obv: +IACOBVS 6 D.G.R. SCOTORVM. S.R.
5460. It is generally accepted that
Scottish coinage is much more attractive than its English counterpart,
especially from the James V until 1603 period when James ascended the English
throne and, by necessity, the two country's followed a more unified path in
terms of coinage. This Sword &
Sceptre piece is absolutely no exception to that aesthetic appraisal. As such, these coins often turn up impaired;
being found mounted or pierced in order to display on the body in the form of
jewellery. Gold coins are also
frequently found with bite marks and creases, often straightened but always
leaving a crease mark. This coin is a
superb example with none of that, although it has been cleaned at some point in
its 420 year life. Scottish coins of
quality are increasing in value seemingly overnight; gold coinage much more so,
which is the main reason I can no longer offer Lay-Away on any gold coins. Here you have both an investment opportunity
together with a seriously attractive coin to potentially go into your
collection. SOLD
WTH-9157 : Rarer Denomination
1562 Elizabeth 1st MILLED Silver Tudor Threepence.
Tall narrow decorated bust with medium Rose, initial mark Star, Tower mint. S.R.2603, DIG 3/B(5ii) - the variety where
the 5 in the date is complete and NOT broken at the top horizontal. Two points of interest on this fascinating
coin:
1. The T in Elizabeth is a definite letter I.
This is a recorded error but never-the-less, on a milled or machine-made
coin (where they knew they had to seriously impress to not just supersede the
hammered coinage, but literally to survive at all against the way it had always
been for many, many centuries - nobody really likes change!), why so sloppy?
2. The 2 in 1562 is unlike others (the norm being a fairly
subtle connection of the lower horizontal to the diagonal. This looks suspiciously like an overdate to
me - a recycled 1561 reverse, altered at the die level to read 1562 but in the
process producing a chunky number 2 as a result of the original underlying
chunky number 1. Basically, a 1562/1
coin.
The following, which I highlight at the top of the
main Elizabeth 1st page, is fact:
“85% of Mestrelle’s meagre experimental machine-made coins were
sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15%
for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences,
halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” This threepence was
a miniscule issue at the Mestrel press and a tinier
issue still when compared to the hammered threepences. Queen Elizabeth 1st
herself visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the
near completion of the recoinage on 10th July 1561. She met with Eloye Mestrelle and viewed his machinery. The visit was reported to be six hours in
length. Eleven years later, Eloye Mestrelle was dismissed
from the mint in 1572 and just six years after that, he was executed (hanged)
for counterfeiting. A rare milled coin,
a rarer still denomination and a perhaps even rarer coin in terms of the legend
error and the potential overdate. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (his older ticket)
WSax-9154: Excessively Rare
Viking Hammered Silver HALFPENNY. Coinage of the Viking Kingdom of York - St Peter
Memorial two line horizontal type HALF penny. Phase 2, circa 910-920. Obverse: SCIIITRIM in two lines with three
horizontal pellets separating; crosses above and below. Reverse: EDORACE CI around a central Cross
Pattée. The legends in this phase are
very blundered and the coins are of a lighter weight. S.R.1008, North 554. The St. Edmund memorial coinage, struck
during the Viking period in East Anglia (circa 895-918 AD), were silver pennies
issued in the Danelaw (not to be confused with
Danegeld, which came nearly 100 years later), a region under Viking control.
These coins commemorated St. Edmund, the King of East Anglia who was martyred
in 869. Chipped but still of the highest rarity. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink 74
ex Norweb 39
ex Tim Owen (his ticket)
WCom-9170: 1650 Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth
Battle of Dunbar Military Reward. Silver, dated 3rd September 1650. A military reward, given out personally by
Cromwell, for participation in the Battle of Dunbar, a decisive engagement in
the English Civil Wars, in which English troops commanded by Oliver Cromwell
defeated the Scottish army under David Leslie, thereby opening Scotland to 10
years of English occupation and rule. Issued
in gold and silver, depending upon the rank of the recipient. Something of an iconic depiction of Cromwell
- Thomas Simon, the engraver, was dispatched by Parliament to Scotland to take the
"...effigies, portrait or statue of the Lord General to be placed upon the
medal". It is recorded that
Cromwell himself did NOT want his portrait on the medals. In a letter, he said: “… I doe thinke I may truly say it will be verie
thankfully acknowledged by me, if you will spare the haveing
my Effigies in it”. Perhaps modesty, or more likely the realisation
that an effigy on a national medal perhaps smacked too much of monarchical
aspirations, something he was supposed to be vehemently opposed to, having just
beheaded Charles 1st and effectively dismantled the monarchy. Either way, Parliament ignored him and went
ahead and did it anyway. The reverse -
the Parliament assembled n one House with the Speaker - being perhaps even more
iconic than the obverse, was actually suggested as a design by Cromwell himself
in a letter to the Committee for the Army in February of 1650, some seven
months prior to the battle. Sold with old tickets. Thomas Simon's
signature appears as THO . SIMON. FE (obverse truncation), meaning it is
Medallic Illustrations (i) 392/14 and not 391/13 as
on the ticket. In 1760, the original
dies, both obverse and reverse, for the Dunbar Medals were discovered in Hursley, Hampshire, in the former residence of Richard
Cromwell - a wall was being dismantled and the medals were inexplicably found
inside the structure. They were re-struck
in the 18th century by the Royal Mint engraver Thomas Pingo. Born 1714, died 1776 so giving us a clear
window of 1760-76 for these re-issues.
This medal is one of those re-issues (the original 1650 military rewards
are valued at several thousand pounds each, should you ever be fortunate enough
to even see one). The dies were not
particularly well protected in the masonry and so exhibited rust and cracking
from the outset, something that quickly escalated due to exposure to the
elements, to the point where the reverse die broke, which perhaps accounts for
the uniface medals we occasionally see. If you look closely at this medal, the rusty
dies manifests itself on some of the obverse legend. A particularly pleasing example. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Drewry Family
collection (purchased for £175 late 80's)
ex CNG, 1997
WMH-8127: Henry 1st Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. B.M.C. XV, Quadrilateral on cross fleury type, 1125-35 only: +OS[B]ERN
ON
[G]IPE – Osbern of Ipswich. S.R. 1276.
There are only x26 results for all Henry 1st types minted at Ipswich
on the EMC database - including cut halves and historical entries with no
images - but only x6 are Henry 1st type XV Ipswich. One has a Winchester
mint signature which is impressive considering it's in the Ipswich
section and Osbern was not a moneyer at Winchester!) Sold with several old
tickets. A rare coin on an unusual irregular
flan. SOLD
WI-9146: 1690 Irish Gun
Money Full Crown. James II emergency Civil War coinage of 1689-91. S.R. 6578.
Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns as by 1690, these were
obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns. The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is
just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st
halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental. It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that
Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity. After fleeing from England to France in 1688
– an effective abdication from the English throne – James II landed in Ireland
March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something we are perhaps
still living with today?! He had
insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise money by
issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been silver
issues. This was a less subtle example
of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. This coinage was set up with an intention for
them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. Old tickets here.
An uncommonly "clean" example, bearing little or no evidence
of the host halfcrown coin. SOLD
Provenance:
ex John Noel Simpson collection
ex Spink
WI-7660: 1690 (May)
James II Irish Gun Money Half Crown. Small-sized halfcrown. S.R. 6580c. Limerick bust. After
fleeing from England to France in 1688 – an effective abdication from the
English throne – James II landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to promote his
Catholic cause, something we are perhaps still living with today?! He had insufficient funds to prosecute this
war so the plan was to raise money by issuing base metal coinage in place of
what would previously have been silver issues.
This was a less subtle example of the Quantitative Easing that we all
witnessed a few years ago. If today’s
money had still been based on the value of the coin in your hand being worth
its face value in precious metal, then the Chancellor in 2009 would perhaps
have done something very similar! This
coinage was set up with an intention for them to be exchanged for sterling
coinage once the dust had settled. This
never happened. The metal for these
coins came from old cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were
termed “Gun Money”. SOLD
WSax-8032 (commission coin): Middle Saxon Kings
of East Anglia Hammered Silver Penny.
Aethelstan 1st, 825-40. Obverse and reverse small crosses, both with
wedges in the angles. Obv: AEÐELSTAN RE,
rev: AEÐELHELM
MO. North 446/3 (unrecorded moneyer for North -
only EADNOTH & MON for type, although the EMC database records three such
coins, but all with pellets in the angles as opposed to wedges), S.R. 951. Ipswich
given tentatively as the mint town (see EMC).
Completely fresh to the market, coming out of a very long-held metal detectorist's collection.
The son of the finder tells me that his father rinsed his finds under
cold water for literally a second and that was it. Attractively toned and very nice grade indeed. A rare opportunity to acquire an outstanding
Saxon coin that has never been messed around with. SOLD
WAu-8056: **Choice** Saxon
Merovingian Gold Tremissis. Wico in Pontio (Quentovic), c. 620-640. Tremissis (Gold, 13mm, 1.26g, 0h), Moneyer Dutta.
+VVICCO FIT Laureate bust to right. Rev. DVTTA MONET, Cross on three steps. Belfort
4959. NM II p. 55, 14. Prou 1125. Rare but rarer still being centrally struck
and such good grade. Clear and well struck, good very fine or better. The Merovingian Dynasty was based in ancient Gaul
(which is now France)
and dates from the middle of the 5th century AD. The coins were very much trading pieces and
many have been found in Britain
as Saxon trade between the Continent and Britain
was extremely robust. Similar examples
have been found as far west as Cornwall
and as far north as Northumbria. Ex Ian Millington
(an expert on Anglo Saxon coinage), ex Silbury Coins
(their ticket), ex DNW. You will not
find a better example of this early Saxon gold coin. It really is a choice coin. SOLD
WJC-9065: 1625 Charles 1st
Silver Pattern Halfcrown - reportedly one of only four known. Engraved by either Thomas Rawlins or Abraham van der Doort. Obv: Bust of
Charles, lovelock on shoulder, falling lace collar and armour, rev: Cast and
chased Royal Arms in garnished shield, the style imitating engraving, very much
along the lines of the work De Passe was producing
around this time. Listed in Medallic
Illustration as (i)373/267, and clearly stated as:
"...probably a pattern for a half crown". The internet yields this:
The Charles I pattern
half-crown is one of the rarest examples assumed to be by Abraham Van der Doort. It shows the bust of
King Charles I with no crown and a lace collar on the obverse. Additionally,
the Royal Coat of Arms is on the reverse. In 1625 this coin was produced as a
prototype before beginning full-scale production. This was due to the intricacy
of the design and the decision that it would slow down coin production.
Ultimately the design for the 1625 half-crown is King Charles on a horse
holding a sword, with the other side depicting an oval quartered shield of
arms. The 1625 Charles I pattern
half-crown is spectacularly rare, with possibly only four currently recorded.
It would be a remarkable addition to any numismatic collection.
and this:
Abraham Van der Doort and the 1625 Charles I
Pattern Half-crown
Monies, Medals & Militaria
Sale date August 22, 2024
Abraham Van der Doort is a talented artist
from the early 17th century. He is known for painting and designing medals and
coins. His documented catalogue of the King’s paintings, sculptures and coins
is impressive.
Not much is known of
the Dutch artist before he moved to England, but once here his talent was recognised and sought after.
He first worked with the royals, creating medal and coin designs, through which
his working relationships flourished.
In 1609, Abraham Van der Doort was tasked with being
Prince Henry’s ‘Curator of his cabinet of Medals and Coins’. After Prince
Henry’s death, he worked for Prince Charles I. Once Charles ascended to the
throne, Van der Doort
started producing new designs of the King for the Royal Mint. Charles
instructed the Dutch artist to make the designs for ‘his majesty Coynes and his assistance to the engravers’. The King
entrusted Van der Doort
with two posts for life: Provider of Patterns and Life Keeper of the Kings
Coins Collection.
Van der Doort was the first Surveyor
of the King’s Pictures. This meant that he was responsible for the care of the
Royal Household’s collection of pictures, specifically Charles I’s art collections.
Sadly, there is only
a small number of Abraham Van der Doort’s
work in today’s market. His most famous work is with the Juxon
Medal. This medal has very similar imagery to the rare 1625 Charles I pattern
half-crown, however, the designer of which is uncertain. The style techniques
and imagery however suggest that it had been designed by Van der Doort rather than Thomas
Rawlins.
Abraham Van der Doort in Auction
Lot 14
England, Ireland & Scotland. Charles I AR Pattern Halfcrown
Price Realised August : £1500
+ buyer's commissions on top
An extremely rare and important coin from this most
interesting, not to mention vast area of numismatics. SOLD
WJC-9016:
1646 Charles 1st
Newark Besieged Silver Shilling. The final die in a three die run
(1645-6). The
besieged Royalists set up a mint and used salvers, flagons, drinking cups,
etc., fashioned into hand-cut lozenge-shaped planchets, striking half-crowns,
shillings, ninepences, and sixpences. Struck by the
royalist forces who surrendered Newark (just up the River Trent from Nottingham) on May 6,
1646, the day after King Charles I had fled the fortress in secret to surrender
himself personally to the besieging Scots, thus this coin would have been part
of the final batch. Interestingly, Newark
was actually besieged three times - first siege: 27-28 February 1643, second siege:
29 February to 21
March 1644 and this third siege, lasting from
26 November 1645
to 8
May 1646.
Evidence on the reverse of underlying host design, especially around the
date. S.R. 3143. A nice, honest example that's not been
pierced and often plugged, as most seem to be these days. SOLD
WTH-9152: Henry VIII Tudor
Hammered Silver Round FARTHING. Second coinage, S.R.2363. Tower mint, 1526-44, initial mark Arrow in the legend; the
obverse legend should, in theory, read RVTILANS ROSA with DEO GRACIAS on the
reverse, but the reality is that this is a ridiculously tiny coin - the
smallest hammered coin ever issued in the UK
- where you're lucky to get anything at all in terms of legend! Here, you get plenty. Coincraft, of all
varieties of farthing, have this to say, which I think sums up this little
denomination nicely. Good provenance - see old tickets
here. Graded VF and again, nice to see the price
guides giving this coin an appropriate valuation of £1,000 in 2025. A very rare and sought-after coin but one
that comes with a warning - don't drop it because you'll never find it again!! SOLD
Provenance:
ex James Rosen collection
ex Rasmussen (2003)
WMH-9120: Choice Edward III
Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Fourth coinage, pre-treaty period, class
G. London mint. S.R. 1570. Initial mark
Cross 3(4), circa 1356-61. There are
several varieties for class G but this coin is unusual in that it has neither
the reverse quarter annulet or the annulet under the bust. Better than the S.R. plate example. An outstanding coin - choice. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (his earlier colour ticket)
WMH-9121: High Grade Henry
VI Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Rosette-mascle issue
of 1430-31 only. London mint. S.R. 1858. A most
unusual initial mark combination of Incurved Pierced Cross (obverse) and Cross
Patonce (reverse). The excellent late
Ivan Buck, in his seminal publication, Medieval English Groats (Greenlight Publishing, 2000), listed only incurved pierced
cross / plain cross and cross patonce / plain cross
as initial mark combinations for this rosette-mascle
issue. For the groats of Henry VI, as
well as the obverse and reverse 12 o'clock marks (commonly, yet incorrectly
termed a mint mark by many - these things never denoted where the coin was
actually struck so they're more correctly described as initial marks), we also
begin to see Privy marks, in this case rosettes and mascles, which were used to
differentiate between the various issues within a reign. The more observant will have noted that both
obverse and reverse are bereft of mascles.
Technically, the rosette-mascle issue was in
two parts: the very early rosette only issue, 1430 only, followed by the
rosette AND mascle issue of mid to late 1430-31. A very nice coin indeed with many
distinguishing attributes. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (his earlier colour ticket)
WJC-9153: Choice Charles 1st
Hammered Silver BRISTOL DECLARATION Halfgroat.
Civil War, Bristol
mint, circa 1643-5. These Declaration
coins are arguably one of the best looking coins in the entire hammered series,
at least in England. Here, you have that aesthetic appeal but
crucially, in miniature - this is literally the smallest denomination they did
with Charles 1st on the obverse and the full Bristol Declaration on the
reverse. All they sacrificed was the
date, which was replaced with the BR symbol.
My camera, or more likely my complete lack of any kind of photographic
skill, has provided an indifferent main image.
Here's
another,
equally mediocre, but taken using a camera phone so at least you can compare
the two. The reality is that the actual
coin in the flesh is better than the sum of both images. S.R.3026 (this coin marginally better than
their plate coin). Coincraft, on this
little gem, have this to say,
which I think sums up this denomination nicely.
The Coincraft plate coin is on a par with this coin. Morrison A-1.
Brooker 1007 (this coin marginally better than his plate coin). Very rare indeed - ask yourself, how many
Deceleration halfgroats to you see compared to the larger denominations and then
ask yourself how many you see in this grade?!
An outstanding coin and very rare.
SOLD
WCA-5387: 1689 Large William & Mary “Act of Toleration” Medal. An interesting medal that pretty much ignore
the Queen and displays only William on the obverse. Further, the medal commemorates the Act of
Toleration which effectively gave the green light to all religious dissenters
(and there were many) to come out into the open, free of reprisals, legal or
otherwise. I imagine it wasn’t quite as
simple as that! SOLD
WTH-7903: Henry VII Hammered
Silver Tudor Halfpenny. A very late type IIIc,
London
Mint, Spink 2245. The king's head being
much out of alignment with the king's shoulders is both interesting and
amusing! A really nice example - I don't
ever recall having had better. SOLD
WI-5595:
Irish James 1st
Hammered Silver 6d. 1604-7, initial mark rose so 1606 –
1607. An extremely good grade example of
a usually poorly struck obverse issue. SOLD
WSC-9009: James V
Scottish Hammered Silver Stuart Groat. Second coinage (the first was just
gold), 1526-39. Type III, Spink
5378. Holyrood Abbey Mint. James ascended the throne aged just one year
old. Coincidentally, upon her father's
death, Mary (the future Mary Queen of Scots), James's only legitimate heir, was
only seven days old when she ascended!
You'd be challenged to source average or lesser grade James V groats for
under £1,000 these days - this coin is definitely not one of those. A high grade example of one of the most
attractive hammered silver coins ever to be issued, not just in Scotland
but in the entire British Isles. SOLD
WI-7839: 1601 Irish
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Copper Penny.
Initial mark Star. Most of these
coins come out of the ground (it is interesting to note that examples have been
unearthed from the Jamestown
site in America,
along with later James 1st hammered silver coinage) and as a result the copper
corrodes. The entire Third Issue of
Irish coinage, 1601-02 only, was an emergency issue brought about by the need
to pay the large numbers of soldiers who were in Ireland. Their role was to defeat the “independent and
warlike” Irish of the North, under the leadership of O’Neil, and to
expeditiously “Shire” Ireland
and bring it under English rule, basically making Ireland
an extension of England. The Earl of Essex was in command of the
English troops but was recalled to England
where he was duly executed. His
replacement, Mountjoy, somewhat motivated by the fate
of his predecessor, did a much better job.
Excellent grade. SOLD
WI-7414: 1683 High Grade
Irish Charles II Copper Halfpenny. Armstrong & Legge’s
Regal Coinage, Spink 6575. Easily VF for
issue (£400 in Spink 2020). Sold with a
detailed information slip. SOLD
WMH-5916:
Edward 1st
Hammered Silver Round Farthing. London (LONDONIENSIS)
mint. Class 3de. S.1445A.
A choice example. SOLD
WJC-7094: Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial mark Book – Aberystwyth mint,
1638/9-42. Spink 2883. The mint at
Aberystwyth had its beginnings in July 1637 when Thomas Bushell
had the idea of coining at the source rather than sending the mined silver for
coining to London. He petitioned that it would stimulate the
Welsh mining industry with predictions of increased output if the adits to drain water from the mines reached their capacity,
and suggested it could lead to other mines in England
being used for coining in a similar fashion. The Mint in London
was against the idea, but King Charles asked for Bushell
to visit and was persuaded by his charm to back him. The agreement was to set
up a mint in Aberystwyth
Castle
with the Crown taking a 10% share with overall supervision from the Warden of
the Mint, Sir William Parkhurst. Coins were struck at
0.925 fineness with Welsh plumes at Halfcrown, Shilling, Sixpence, Half-Groat
and Penny. Ex Spink, 25th
Nov 2011 – sold for £1,450. A very nice coin indeed. SOLD
WMH-8104: Henry IV / V
Hammered Silver Medieval SCOWLING BUST Groat.
Light coinage, London
mint, type B2a (there is now uncertainty as to whether types A and B of Henry V
should be given to Henry IV), initial mark Cross Pattée, no fleurs
over the crown and Quatrefoil after hENRIC - Spink
1762B. There is an interesting mention
of this very coin in BNJ 1997 (50), p.26.
See old tickets here and information sheet here.
High grade, impeccable provenance - Choice. SOLD
Provenance:
ex D. Mangaki collection...
Purchased
from Seaby 1956
ex Margaret Delmé Radcliffe
collection...
Dispersed Glendining's Action (1985)
Ex North Yorkshire Moor collection...
Dispersed DN W Action
(2019)
Ex Mike Vosper (2019 -
£1,250 ticket price)
WSC-9092: Rare
Scottish Alexander III Post Brussels A Hammered Silver Penny. First coinage, 1250-80 but right at
the very end of this period. IOhAN of Berwick. Spink
5048. It was at this point in the rein
that the English introduced the new Edward 1st coinage, heralding the end of
the voided cross issues. The Scottish
quickly followed with the introduction of the Alexander III second
coinage. The entire reign was
prosperous, even though Alexander succeeded his father at just seven years of
age. The reign was cut short when
Alexander rode his horse off a cliff aged just 44 (the king, not the
unfortunate horse). An extremely rare
coin as evidenced by R.W. Kirton's annotation, being
the first I've ever handled in all the decades.
SOLD
Provenance:
Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent
numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish
coinage)
WMH-8080: Edward III
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Fourth
coinage, pre-treaty period of 1351-61 with French titles, series F, London mint. Initial mark Crown (I have never seen such a
clear crown initial mark on one of these pennies before), dating it accurately
to 1356. An outstanding coin. SOLD
WMH-7268: Edward 1st
Medieval Hammered Silver HOARD Penny.
New coinage, class 3g, London
mint, Spink 1393. Part of The Bercar (Scottish) Hoard of 2014 saw x362 silver pennies
unearthed by a group of metal detectorists. The latest coin in the hoard was a class 15d,
struck around 1327/8. Sold with an A4
information sheet. This coin is one of
the very best of the x20 or so I managed to acquire. SOLD
WSC-7978: CHOICE William
1st, The Lion, Rare Early Scottish Hammered Silver Crescent & Pellet Penny.
Phase 1 Sterling,
cross potent sceptre head so bust 1, phase 1, circa 1174-80. Perth
mint. Spink 5024, Grierson,
Coins of Medieval Europe
197; Burns 2 (fig. 30); SCBI 35 (Ashmolean & Hunterian) 31/A-32/A. Obv: [+ LЄ] R[Є WI]LLAm, bust left with wide crown. Rev: + FO[LPOLT] DЄ PЄR[T :],
short cross pattee with crescents and pellets in
angles. Phase 1 coins are much the rarer
of the crescents and pellets coinage, although to be fair, they're all
rare. It is interesting to note that
Spink do not acknowledge Perth
as an option for Phase 1 coinage: Edinburgh and Dun are the only options they
give. William gained the title "The
Lion" not through any particular act of bravery but rather through
changing the dragon on the arms of Scotland
with a lion. Old ticket here.
Good VF (about as struck as it left the mint - remember, this issue was
contemporary with the English Teably coinage, and we
all know how dreadful that was) with attractive cabinet toning together with
the majority of the legends legible, something rarely seen on these early
issues. A very large, unclipped
flan. All that is secondary to the
amazing depiction of William himself. You'll
struggle to find another for sale and if you do, it won't be as good as this
one - even the Spink plate coin, with all Spink's
resources, is not as good as this coin.
A very rare and desirable coin indeed.
SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Baldwin,
bought by...
Richard A. Jourdan July
2007
WCA-5957:
1687 James II
Full Silver Crown. Interestingly modified to incorporate x2
small blades. See images here and here. SOLD
WMH-9116: Edward 1st
Hammered Silver Penny - a lovely example. Rose on breast - class 7a. London mint. Spink 1403. One of the most iconic Edward 1st New Coinage
types; better still with superb toning and a Very Fine grade. Edward 1st pennies are readily available but
this coin is in a different league to those.
SOLD
Provenance
ex Northern collection, purchased...
ex Sovereign Rarities (£200)
WI-7210: 1601-02 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Struck at the very tail end of the reign in order to pay the troops England
sent over to quell the “warlike” Irish of the North, led by O’Neill. The context was England’s
desire to “Shire” Irish land. The Earl
of Essex was sent over to lead the troops but he was recalled to London
where he was promptly executed. The
deceased Earl’s successor, Mountjoy, had a slightly
better campaign, based on the fact that he wasn’t executed upon his return to London. This coinage was very base, but not as base
as the pence of this issue, which literally contained no silver – a
revolutionary action (although Henry VIII got in there first with his “Old
Copper Nose” coins) when you bear in mind that the entire foundation of
currency was based on these coins actually being worth, in precious metals,
what they were circulating as. For
example, in medieval times, a penny coin literally contained silver to the
value of one penny. Spink 6508. This coin very high grade for issue. SOLD
WI-7658: Edward 1st
Medieval Irish Hammered Silver Round Farthing. Early issues of 1279-84 (open C and
E). Dublin
mint, Spink 6255. A tiny coin and
therefore a much magnified image. SOLD
WI-9033:
Edward
1st Irish Medieval Hammered Round FARTHING.
Second coinage, type 1, the rarer Waterford
mint - only Dublin
and Waterford
struck farthings and only Dublin
struck them for the late Edward 1st issue (the issue in between those two
struck no farthings). Spink 6256. A rare coin.
SOLD
WI-8009:
Irish Henry VII Hammered
Silver Geraldin Groat. Three Crowns
coinage, type IV, Geraldine issue of August to October 1487 only. Kildare. Crude Saltires or Crosses either side of the crowns, no
"h" below - Spink 6432. The Fitzgeralds of Kildare were a powerful family who took
control for a brief period after Lambert Simnel's
abortive attempt to win the crown. The
reverse legend, DOMINUS YBERNIE, means Lord of Ireland. This is a rare issue and rarely, if ever,
found in better than fine condition.
Sold with a couple of tickets. SOLD
WI-7868: Henry VII Irish Hammered
Silver Early Tudfor Groat.
Late portrait issue coinage of 1496-1505. "CIVI TAS DVBL InIE"
reading - Dublin mint, Spink 6451. Initial mark Lis,
broad portrait, very much double-punched, which was a definite characteristic
of this particular group due to issues with the shallow nature of the
dies. SOLD
WI-7140: 1558 Elizabeth 1st
Irish Hammered Billon Silver Groat.
First issue, preceding the 1561 fine silver issue, at 0.250 silver
content. Spink 6504. Ex Walter
Wilkinson collection, accompanied by all his tickets.
The Walter Wilkinson collection was one of the best collections of
Elizabeth 1st coinage ever put together. Throughout the long life of the collection,
Walter was constantly buying in better grade examples to improve the
collection. This coin is a superb example
which I have certainly not shown through my poor images. It’s a VF coin, regardless of the atrocious
nature of the issue in general and the provenance is as good as it gets. SOLD
WSC-8989: Scottish 1708
Jacobite Medal - Map of Great Britain. Prince James,
the Elder Pretender to the throne. MI (
ii) 312/133, by Norbert Roettier in AE metal. An interesting medal depicting the British
Isles surrounded by ships at sea. The obverse legend reads literally
"Whose is this?", meaning "Whose image is this?" and
amplified out to something like "Whose image is this? The King's.
Render then to the King these Islands,
which are his." Struck in 1708
around the time of the Union
and distributed among the partisans of the exiled royal family, the medal
sought to build upon the unpopularity of said Union. As ever, France
was on hand to do anything to upset the British - they are her ships
surrounding the British Isles. Interestingly, although struck in 1708, they
were used politically again in reasonably high numbers by being distributed at
1711 and 1714 events. Obviously a design
that the Jacobites thought highly of and indeed, the reverse was a stroke of
genius in terms of its eye-catching, instantaneously understood message. SOLD
WSC-8019:
Choice 1558 Mary
Queen of Scots Hammered Silver Testoon. 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. No muling
of the dates, which is unusual, and interestingly, clear evidence that the 155-
part of the date on the obverse was on the die with the final digit, in this
case an 8, being added later, and even some evidence that the same occurred on
the reverse as there is a cap between the first three and the final digits. Scottish coinage in general was a product of
miniscule mintage figures compared to south of the border with extant examples
disappearing even faster as a result of various 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 huge 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. Once cleaned
but now retoning nicely. A very desirable coin indeed. SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Libertas collection, purchased Oct 1980
for US $850
WSC-7822: 1559 Scottish Mary
Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Nonsunt.
A twelve penny groat struck in the second period, 1558-60, under both
Mary and her husband, Francis. It was an
issue of half alloy (.5 fine) which was actually quite high considering the
Lions of the same date which were 23/24 alloy - basically base metal. The obverse crowned heraldic dolphin is
facing left (it's my belief that left facing is the rarer of the two) so this
is Spink 5448. If you're scratching your
head over the derivation of the term "nonsunt",
look no further than the reverse legend.
A small hole at 12
o'clock.
As the ticket states, rarely seen these days. SOLD
WSC-9108: Excessively Rare
David II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Round Farthing.
First coinage, first issue of early 1330's. Spink 5086.
More
recent ticket here. Obverse: +DAVID:DEI.GRACIA and reverse: REX
SCOTORVM. Berwick mint (tentative attribution)
with initial mark Cross Pattée. The National
Museum
in Edinburgh
has no examples. The Hunterian
Museum
in Glasgow
has no examples. The Ashmolean
Museum
in Oxford
has no examples. Coincraft, of this
issue, state: "...of
the highest rarity". 99.99% of the coins in that guide have been
given a value. This is one of those
extremely rare instances where the cataloguers do not assign a value, they
simply state "ex.
rare". R.W. Kirton, a leading light in Scottish numismatic research and
a man not associated with the use of hyperbole, on his ticket states: "Of extreme rarity". He also states that the reverse die is
unrecorded. Rarity aside, let's focus in
on grade. A problem-free coin with a
strong bust, virtually complete lettering (even with the corresponding flat
areas, a result of the moneyer's slightly angled strike, those odd letters are
just about discernable) and steel-grey toning.
A quick Google search will show you a museum
copy of Spink 5086. It will be directly
copied from the very best coin available.
It's a dreadful coin. As far as I
can ascertain, this is one of the best, and possibly the best example
known. Choice all day long. SOLD
Provenance:
ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent
numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish
coinage)
WMH-9102: Stephen Norman
Kings Hammered Silver Penny - Rare Mint.
Almer (actually Aethelmaer,
a solid Saxon name for a Norman moneyer!) of Chester:
+ALMER:ON:CES. Old tickets here.
Spink 1278. B.M.C. I,
Cross Moline
“Watford”
type. A rarer northern mint (£1,000 in
Spink) and a coin well struck for once.
VF for issue. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Michael Trenerry (1986
and 2023)
WMH-7939: Stephen Norman
Hammered Silver Rarer Mint Penny. Cross Moline
or B.M.C. 1 type, 1136-45.
[+S]APINE.ON.HAST – Hastings
mint town. Very few recorded examples,
especially complete coins and in this grade, recorded. The apparent crack at 1 or 2 o'clock
on the reverse actually isn't a crack at all, rather a planchet flaw which was
there prior to the strike. Its
corresponding obverse location is at 4
o'clock.
Ex Bispham collection (an acknowledged expert
in late Norman,
early medieval coinage), ex Baldwins
- see
old tickets here. It is perhaps full circle in that at the
Battle of Hastings the Normans
took control of England
and then this penny, minted at Hastings,
witnessed the end of the Normans
period upon Stephen's death. SOLD
WI-9077: Irish Henry
VII Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. A
class 1, late portrait issue, circa 1496 - 1505. Dublin
mint. Smaller head, Spink 6453. See here for old
tickets. Uncommon.
SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink
Old 1995 ticket
WTH-7883: 1567 Elizabeth 1st
Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent Provenance.
Initial mark lis, small crude bust, Spink
2599. Borden & Brown 37 (O1/R1) -
type 7c. The following, which I
highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st page, is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s meagre
experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1567 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on 10th July 1561. She met with Eloye Mestrelle and viewed his machinery. The visit was reported to be six hours in
length. Eleven years later, Eloye Mestrelle was dismissed
from the mint in 1572 and just six years after that, he was executed (hanged)
for counterfeiting. Old tickets here: Ex CEJ 1945 and residing in the
same family until recently. A rarer date
coin. SOLD
WMH-8128: Stephen Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. An exceptional
coin. Cross Moline
“Watford”
type B.M.C. I, Ð[VR]STAN:ON:EVE – Thorsteinn
of York. Spink 1278.
Of the x5 examples recorded on the EMC database, this coin is the best. Dark
toning, full flan, well centred, strong portrait, excellent legends – you
will struggle to find a better example for type or mint available today. SOLD
WMH-7396: William II “Rufus”
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. Cross fleury and
piles issue (B.M.C. V) of 1098 – 1100 only. +ASCIL.ON.[L]I[N]CO. Lincoln
mint. Spink 1262. Extra image here.
This final issue is the rarest of all five William II types, being only 9%
of all recorded coins, including fragments and mules, for EMC + SCBI. The EMC alone has type V at 8% with the nest
rarest, type IV, at 10%. Further, the
money and type combination is also rare.
SOLD
WJC-9094:
Stuart
De Passe Token - James 1st with Charles 1st.
Circa 1625 - 1629/30. From a
series of Medalets issued by Simon van de Passe (1595-1647) depicting the kings and queens of England. It is generally accepted that they were
issued as gaming tokens. The dies were
cleverly sunk to imitate a hand-engraved appearance and indeed, the uninitiated
even today will readily state hand-engraved when asked. They were not; they were
machine-pressed. There is a commoner
Charles 1st De Passe token with his wife, Henrietta
Maria, on the reverse but this token, issued when Charles 1st was on the
throne, is unusual in that it depicts two monarchs. Mitchener
4784. Rare. £245
WCom-6439: 1651
Commonwealth Hammered Silver Shilling. A straight 51 obverse and reverse but no stop
after THE making this the rare E.S.C 984.
SOLD
WJC-7503: 1604 James 1st
Hammered Silver Dated Sixpence. First Coinage, second bust, initial mark Lis. Spink
2648. A common date but the rarer first
coinage type. Ex Wootton
collection. SOLD
WG-9081: 1797 George
III Copper Cartwheel Penny BOX. At
40mm in height, this box is comprised of a cartwheel penny as base and another
for the lid, together with a copper tube for the body of the box imitating x10
more cartwheel pennies. The base coin is
fixed. The top pushes into / pulls out
of the copper tube in a most pleasing fashion.
Possibly a very early 1800's apprentice piece. If you're looking for something numismatic,
tactile, useful and quirky, look no further!
SOLD
WG-9082: 1797 George
III Copper Cartwheel Penny SMUGGLER'S BOX. At first glance, a standard 1797
George III cartwheel penny. Look closer
though and you'll see that this coin cleverly unscrews to reveal a hidden
cavity inside. Possibly a very early
1800's apprentice piece. Another story
I've heard is that these were used to hide a gold guinea inside so that, for
instance, if you were taking a horse & coach trip in Georgian times and
were held up by a highwayman, he would not really be interested in a paltry penny. These things have always been termed
"Smuggler's Boxes" so clearly there was an element of smuggling
involved here, although what you could physically smuggle inside one of these
things back in the early 1800's is beyond me!
Crucially, the thread mechanism on this coin is in perfect working
order - virtually every other example I've previously had has been
problematic on the thread. A couple of
people have been asking me to source one of these pretty much since Covid - this is the first I've had in all that time! If you're looking for something numismatic,
tactile, useful and quirky, look no further!
SOLD
WG-9083: 1797 George
III Copper Cartwheel Twopence SMUGGLER'S BOX. At first glance, a standard huge
1797 George III cartwheel twopence. Look closer though and you'll see that this
coin cleverly unscrews to reveal a hidden cavity inside. Possibly a very early 1800's apprentice
piece. Another story I've heard is that
these were used to hide a gold guinea inside so that, for instance, if you were
taking a horse & coach trip in Georgian times and were held up by a
highwayman, he would not really be interested in a paltry penny. These things have always been termed
"Smuggler's Boxes" so clearly there was an element of smuggling
involved here, although what you could physically smuggle inside one of these
things back in the early 1800's, even in a coin of this size, is beyond
me! Crucially, the thread mechanism on
this coin is in perfect working order - virtually every other example
I've previously had has been problematic on the thread. Further, this is a very different method of
manufacture to examples I've previously seen - the thread is set much further
into the coin resulting in a very sturdy design indeed. A couple of people have been asking me to
source one of these pretty much since Covid - this is
the first I've had in all that time! If
you're looking for something numismatic, tactile, useful and quirky, look no
further! SOLD
WSC-9044: John Baliol
Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars Penny. Second
coinage, smooth surface issue, circa 1292-6.
Berwick mint. Obv: +IOhANNES DEI
GRA, bust left. Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long
cross with x4 mullets or stars of six points in angles. Spink 5071. 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. Unlike the first issue John Baliol pennies, very few specimens of this coinage have
been found recently with metal detectors.
Both very rare and desirable in this grade. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Mike Vosper
WI-9078: John (as Lord)
Irish Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny.
Listed in reference books as pennies but circulated at halfpence (the
halfpennies duly circulated as farthings).
Second DOM[inus] coinage with the rarer obverse
legend ending DOOM, c.1185/1190 and no later than 1208/9. Dublin
mint; Norman
as moneyer. With a cross potent as
opposed to a cross pommée reverse, this is a Group 1b coin, Spink 6205. Prince John (his father still being very much
alive at this point) was given Lordship of Ireland in 1177. He finally visited in 1185 which coincided
with the first (excessively rare) issue.
This later issue followed on from that.
In 1208, John became king, so heralding the third "Rex"
coinage. See here for old
tickets. An outstanding coin - choice. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink
ex Hartland collection of English coins
ex Baldwins,
1955, where is sold for the very high price of 15 shillings
WTH-7884: 1568/7 Elizabeth
1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent Provenance.
Initial mark lis, small crude bust, Spink
2599. Borden & Brown 40 (O2/R1) -
type 7c, this exact coin cited and illustrated.
The following, which I highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st
page, is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1568/7 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near completion
of the recoinage on 10th
July 1561.
She met with Eloye Mestrelle
and viewed his machinery. The visit was
reported to be six hours in length.
Eleven years later, Eloye Mestrelle
was dismissed from the mint in 1572 and just six years after that, he was
executed (hanged) for counterfeiting. Old tickets here: Ex Spink 1958 and residing in the
same family until recently. A rarer date
and better grade coin. SOLD
WSC-9087: 1567 Mary
Queen of Scots Large Hammered Silver Ryal. Second widowhood, struck Edinburgh, Spink
5429. Old tickets here.
Counterstamped due to revaluation (30s to a hefty 36s, 9d) in 1578 - see
page 76 of Spink. It is interesting to
note that 1567 was a year that both Mary and James VI issued coinage
although it should be noted that the Mary date was but a fraction of the James
VI date in terms of output. About
VF. A most desirable coin. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink, 1980's (May Sinclair tickets)
WTH-9091: Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Shilling. Sixth issue, initial mark Woolpack
(1594-6), Spink 2577. An interesting and
rarer variety with the obverse legend reading ELZAB. Excellent grade - just look at the state of
most extant Elizabethan coinage from late in the issue. The Spink plate coin - presumably the best
known example - is only marginally better.
Beautifully toned, high grade and rare thus. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (older colour ticket)
WI-8174: 1690 Irish James
II Emergency Pewter Money Halfpenny.
Issued as part of the Gun Money Civil War coinage, but very much on the
tail-end when the supply of “latten” or scrap base metal was very in dire
shortage. Things were getting so bad
that a warrant was issued for the coining of two guns (presumably obsolete
ones) from Dublin
castle. It then got worse still: writing
to Mary of Modena, James II's
wife in France, the duke of Tyrconnell (the lord
lieutenant of Ireland) included in a list of 'things we cannot subsist
here without' a request that 'forty guns may be sent us to coine into money'.
At the same time that brass latten was becoming almost impossible to
source, the public were coming to the very end of their already thinly
stretched patience with this non-money.
Their contempt for the coins and those who had issued them was
unlimited, and they talked of 'their Tinkerly
Treasure' and 'their brass imaginary coin made only valuable by
the magic of their priests'.
This was never more so than during the Pewter Money period. In January 1691, the Irish finally admitted
that nothing was going to restore the value of their emergency coinages. They announced that the brass & pewter
would be withdrawn from circulation on 15 March. Those who had emergency
coinage were to bring them to the treasury where they would be given receipts
which would entitle them to full repayment when James was restored to his
throne. Most people knew that neither
was likely to happen. This pewter issue,
the “successor” to Gun Money, had a copper alloy plug. It was incredibly susceptible to both wear
and corrosion. Very few examples remain
extant and hardly any of them are in anything like this grade. Type I, Spink 6591. Readers may be interested to know that the
rare 1690 pewter money halfpenny issue in silver is all a later re-strike,
probably done in France
some time later. What little precious
metals they had at this time went to pay the troops in France
because they refused to accept the Latten or Pewter coinage. Further, all silver and gold Gun Money proofs
are again later re-strikes using genuine dies.
A particularly pleasing reverse, better than that of the Spink plate
coin and overall, on a par with that coin, it being the very best they could
source with their huge resources. Rare
and rarer so in this grade. SOLD
WAu-9023:
Edward VI Tudor
Hammered Gold Half Sovereign. Although struck within the early period of
Edward's reign, they all bear the name AND portrait of his father, Henry
VIII. A youthful portrayal of Henry - a
strange choice of depiction, bearing in mind Henry was not only elderly but
also dead at this point! - with sceptre.
Initial mark Arrow. Lozenge stops
on the obverse; broken quatrefoils on the reverse. Spink 2391, Schneider 660, North 1865. Always a problematic issue, the dies poor and
the end product rarely, if ever, struck up properly. See here for weight and tickets. This coin above average for issue. SOLD
Provenance
Ex Michael Trenerry
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
WTH-7603: Philip & Mary
Hammered Silver Billon Penny. P.Z.M. etc, London
mint, initial mark Half-rose & castle, Spink 2510A. Circulated as a halfpenny. I’m not normally one to get overly excited by
grade but even I have to admit that this coin is superb - central striking both
sides, exceptionally high grade for issue – choice. Ex Lancashire
collection. You‘ll struggle to find
better. SOLD
WMH-8104: Henry IV / V
Hammered Silver Medieval SCOWLING BUST Groat.
Light coinage, London
mint, type B2a (there is now uncertainty as to whether types A and B of Henry V
should be given to Henry IV), initial mark Cross Pattée, no fleurs
over the crown and Quatrefoil after hENRIC - Spink
1762B. There is an interesting mention
of this very coin in BNJ 1997 (50), p.26.
See old tickets here and information sheet here.
High grade, impeccable provenance - Choice. SOLD
Provenance:
ex D. Mangaki collection...
Purchased
from Seaby 1956
ex Margaret Delmé Radcliffe
collection...
Dispersed Glendining's Action (1985)
Ex North Yorkshire Moor collection...
Dispersed DN W Action
(2019)
Ex Mike Vosper (2019 -
£1,250 ticket price)
Ex Mike Hallam
collection
WRS-8999: Roman
Silver Legionary Denarius: Legion II - Extraordinary Provenance. Roman Imperatorial coinage, post
Second Triumvirate, Mark Antony. Struck Autumn 32 to Spring 31 BC. RSC 27, Sear 349. Legionary denarii is the modern name for a
series of Roman silver denarius coins issued by Mark Antony
in the eastern Med
iterranean
during the last war of the Roman
Republic
from 32 to 31 BC, in the lead up to the Battle of Actium. They were struck for one purpose only - to
pay the legionary soldiers. This coin is
Legion II - present in the British invasion force of the imperial propraetor Aulus Plautius in AD43, during which it was placed under the
command of the young legionary legate Titus Flavius Vespasianus,
later to become emperor. Twenty Three
legions were honoured in this "Legionary" denarius issue. The coins were struck in reduced silver
content (!) and so survived the rigours of circulation much better than
standard denarii. This meant that they
continued to be used in circulation and would have been present on the invasion
force of AD 43. The entire legion apart
from a small caretaker force, plus detachments of Legio
VI Victrix and Legio XX
Valeria Victrix, was put to work on the construction
of Hadrian’s Wall. Part of the very famous Helmingham
Hoard of 2019 - the largest mixed hoard of British Iron Age and Roman coins
ever found in Britain. This hoard was deposited AD 46-7, only 3 or 4
years after Legion II landed. Sold with
an impressive array of tickets & literature here and here.
The large A4 double-sided glossy document makes very interesting reading
as it attempts to focus in on the individual who deposited this hoard into the
ground. A very good coin for issue,
bearing in mind its nearly 80 years in circulation, but more than that, true
history in a coin! SOLD
Provenance:
ex Helmingham Hoard of
2019WMH-8059:
An Excellent
Henry V Long Cross Hammered Silver Penny. Initial mark
Pierced Cross, York mint, mullet
& lis by crown, annulet in reverse quarter -
Spink 1791. For a York mint coin, this
is a remarkable, bordering on exceptional example, all the more so because this
coin was struck from LOCAL DIES. I have
only ever had London mint coins as
good as this before. 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, just before they defeated the French. Centrally struck both sides, good legends, minor
clipping only, strong detail throughout.
This would have stood out when it was minted in amongst all the other
coins that were poorly struck and from indifferent local dies. Rare. SOLD
WSC-9031:
Charles 1st
Scottish Hammered Silver Twelve Shillings - A Hugely Significant Coin. Third coinage, 1637-42, Type IV Falconer issue, the
rarest (and final) Type IV issue with the bust wholly within the inner
circle. Spink 5563. So, two things:
1)
This coin has been centrally pierced as part of the 1696 Great Re-coinage,
largely overseen by Sir Isaac Newton at the mint. Hammered coinage in England was phased out
at the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and was officially ended in 1662
with the introduction of Charles II milled silver coins. Whilst no more hammered coins were minted
post 1662, the old hammered coinage was still legal tender; hammered and milled
running side by side, although much of the former was battered and bruised through
shear over usage, not to mention underweight through clipping. In 1696, although hammered coinage was still
popular with the public, it was decided that enough was enough – all
circulating hammered coinage was to be assessed by the mint. Anything under weight was to be exchanged for
the new milled coinage and anything of the correct weight was allowed to
circulate for a few years more. This
latter cohort was identified as “still legal” (crucially, these pierced coins
were not legal currency, rather they were officially sanctioned to pass
as lumps of bullion only, so technically still actual money, but not legally)
by the addition of a central punch or piercing administered by the mint. There were problems, as one would perhaps
expect with such a huge national undertaking:
a. Due to the
mint’s promise of a like-for-like value replacement, regardless of condition,
many enterprising individuals, before submitting for exchange, clipped their
hammered coinage further still, retaining the silver shavings to be utilised
for effectively what was free money later on.
b. As a direct
result of this extra clipping, together with the high cost of minting the new
milled coinage, the government lost a great deal of money – nearly £3
million.
c. The timing was
appalling – the new milled money was not ready in time for an exchange. Riots threatened and there was great public
unrest until the government bridged the period by issuing paper notes.
d. The infamous
Window Tax, of which we’re all still cognisant of today, was introduced
specifically to pay for this near £3 million financial black hole. There have been some bad government taxes
over the years, but a window tax?!
Bearing in mind there were not actually that many hammered coins that
passed the grade in 1696 (the process was actually 1696-99), together with the
fact that post 1699, whenever a pierced hammered coin passed through the hands
of officialdom, it would inevitably be withdrawn, it’s perhaps easy to see why
these coins are rare. You really don’t
see than many of them. Georgian and
Victorian gentlemen collectors would not be interested in pierced coins (these
were the people who mutilated the Cromwell crowns by smoothing over the
infamous die flaw because they couldn’t live with them as they were!!), which
is another reason why these extremely interesting coins are so rare.
2) The 1696 Great Re-coinage of 1696 was absolutely an
English move and yet this coin is very much Scottish! What would have happened was that this coin
would have been traded down from Scotland
to England,
thereby losing it's Twelve Shillings denomination, instead circulating as a
simple English Shilling. The central
piercing of coins of the correct weight was perhaps the least worst idea they
came up with - it was incredibly unpopular with the man in the street (piercing
a coin had always been a mark of non-currency, the best examples being the
English centrally pierced jettons). London
was the focus of this great endeavour but officials were sent out into the
Shires to perform the deed. I'd imagine
this coin was the work of a mobile mint official somewhere north of London.
I have never seen or even heard of a Scottish coin connected with the
1696 Great Re-coinage before - the Irish
Charles 1st Blacksmith halfcrown I put up on the website a few years back was
centrally pierced not because of 1696 but simply to denote it wasn't legal
currency. However, there is a single
Scottish reference I've managed to source, and it is just a single reference in
amongst all the English extant examples: The Punched Hammered Coinage of
1696 (Galata 2019) by Garry Charman
lists a Scottish Charles 1st twelve shilling piece, centrally pierced, as a
result of the Great Recoinage, and would you believe it, the coin was also the
rarer type IV, Spink 5563! Not the same
coin though. A very rare coin
indeed. SOLD
WTH-9061:
1551 Edward VI Tudor Hammered FINE SILVER Halfcrown.
Walking horse with plume, initial mark y, Spink 2479. Tower (London)
mint. Extra montage image here, of the coin in the hand and taken
with a camera phone, illustrating the countless overstamps and corrections to
mainly the reverse lettering, but also the obverse. Some are smaller, less bulky letters over
original larger letters (eg all the letters of REX),
whilst others are clearly the correct letter over something entirely different
(eg the S of POSVI and the E of DEVM). I suspect that not only was this the first
date, first initial mark and first issue but that it was indeed the very first
die pair where they had to iron out all the mistakes. An interesting coin. SOLD
WI-9060:
Rarer Edward VI Irish Tudor Hammered Silver Groat or
Sixpence. Posthumous (Henry VIII) old head coinage,
1547 - 1550. CIVI TAS DVB LINIE - Dublin
mint. Initial mark the oh-so-rare BOAR'S HEAD. The final type IV issue (small right facing
bust; very much in the style of the English
Tower
groats) and so nearer to 1550 in date.
Spink 6488. Struck in the name of
Henry VIII and with the old head portrait of Henry VIII, even though by the
time this coin hit the streets of Ireland,
Henry had been dead for nearly three years.
The reason for the old king's details on the coinage was not, as most
people understand, simply because Edward was too young to do "kingly
stuff", or because people still loved the old king, or even that the Irish
were slow off the mark - it was actually done to con the people, or rather to
carry on conning the people, but conning them just a little bit more. Actual Henry VIII base coinage, struck
towards the end of his reign, was very debased as a way of making money for the
mint, and therefore the country, after Henry had all but emptied the country's
coffers. The English ministers planned
to bring the currency of England
(not Ireland!)
back up to .925 alloy from little better than copper and indeed they did this
in 1551 with the English fine silver issues.
To pay for this, the Irish debased coinage would continue for a further
x4 years after the death of Henry and crucially, having the old king's name and
portrait on the coins would, it was thought, trick the public into accepting
the poor coins. Remember, the coin in
your hand back then was supposed to be the face value in silver, so much so
that the coin itself was largely irrelevant - all you needed was a penny's
worth of scrap silver to purchase a penny loaf of bread. These debased coins were far from being worth
their face value in metal. The bit where
the English ministers conned the people just a little bit more was in making
the silver content of the Edward VI coinage just a little bit better than the
worst of the Henry VIII coinage BUT they increasing the face value from a groat
(fourpence) to a sixpence WITHOUT upping the metal
content. Basically, same coin but a
revaluation. To further rub salt into
the wound, whilst in 1551 the English were enjoying the bright shiny fine
silver coinage of .925 alloy, the Irish, in 1552, having suffered in order to
pay for the English fine silver halcyon days, suffered further by having their
coinage reduced even more to .250 fine!
So here we have a coin that is Henry VIII and / or Edward VI and a
denomination of 4d and / or 6d! More
importantly, we have here the BOAR'S HEAD initial mark, the first I have ever seen, let alone
handled. Sold with two old tickets
(illustrated) and another old dealer ticket incorrectly ascribing this coin as
Spink 6487. A rare offering. SOLD
WI-7661: 1690 (August)
James II Irish Gun Money Half Crown. Large-sized halfcrown. Spink 6579b.
After fleeing from England to
France in 1688 – an effective abdication from the English throne – James II
landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something
we are perhaps still living with today?!
He had insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise
money by issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been
silver issues. This was a less subtle
example of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. If today’s money had still been based on the
value of the coin in your hand being worth its face value in precious metal,
then the Chancellor in 2009 would perhaps have done something very
similar! This coinage was set up with an
intention for them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had
settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. SOLD
WI-9066: 1690 Irish Gun
Money Full Crown. James II emergency Civil War coinage of
1689-91. Spink 6578. Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns
as by 1690, these were obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns. The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is
just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st
halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental. It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that
Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity. After fleeing from England to France in 1688
– an effective abdication from the English throne – James II landed in Ireland
March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something we are perhaps
still living with today?! He had
insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise money by
issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been silver
issues. This was a less subtle example
of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. This coinage was set up with an intention for
them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. SOLD
WTH-7601: 1589 Elizabeth 1st
Jetton – The Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
This event is iconic in the annals of Tudor history. Obviously this happened in 1588 but design,
production and distribution takes time.
MI 153/128, Eimer 63, Van Loom 388/2.
Well toned and perhaps somewhat harshly graded at GVF. Ex Baldwin’s. SOLD
WTH-8074: Edward VI Base
Shilling Counterstamped with an Elizabeth 1st Portcullis Revaluation Mark.
An Edward VI base shilling from the Third Period (1551), clear initial
mark Lion, the final date letter of the Roman alphabet clearly shown as L, so
MDL or 1550. Counterstamped between 1oth
October 1560 and 8th
November 1560 with a Portcullis to signify a
revaluation to fourpence-halfpenny. Spink 2546.
The question of recoining the large amount of
debased currency in circulation in the first two years of Elizabeth’s reign led
a committee of the Privy Council to recommend the city of London provide
magistrates to check the coin in circulation in market places, and to stamp
Edward VI shillings of 8:2 and 6:2 fineness with a portcullis, enabling them to
be current for fourpence-halfpenny, and those of 3:2
fineness with a greyhound, thus current for twopence-farthing.
The stamping began on 10
October 1560 (i.e. almost at the end of the lis-marked first coinage, which ceased on 8 November 1560)
and was undertaken country-wide, with the die-sinker John Lawrence providing
sufficient punches to the corporations of 42 towns. These counterstamped coins
were allowed to circulate only until the early Spring of 1561. Old auction
cutting here. Let's be honest, this is an ugly coin, but
you must remember that the entire point of this 1560 counterstamping exercise was
to target worn and damaged Edward VI coinage with the ultimate aim of
removing this troublesome coin from circulation, so only the "bad"
ones were ever counterstamped - you're never going to see a "good"
one. Aesthetics aside, this is an
excessively rare, numismatically important Elizabeth 1st coin, described by
some as THE rarest of all the issues - the Greyhound c/s is rarer and the
undated sixpences are rarer still, in my opinion, but never-the-less I'm sure
you get the point. The Bishopsteignton (Devon)
example sold September 2020 through Spink for just a smidgeon under £10,000
after commissions. The Walter Wilkinson
example - so poor that at auction it received a grade of "mediocre" -
was estimated at between £4,000 and £5,000 but because there was so much
Elizabeth 1st material released onto the market that day courtesy of that
superb and enormous collection, it only sold for £2,600 after commission in
2020. I'm aware of only one other for
sale and that's just under £5,000.
Ignore this and you'll probably never see another come up! SOLD
WTH-7600: 1599/8 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Anchor over Key, Sixth issue,
Spink 2578B. 1599 as a date represents a
frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1599 is the third rarest of all forty two dates
*** There was an economic depression
during the final years of the sixteenth century, a factor hugely relevant in
the rarity of this coin. This led to a
situation where there was an oversupply of dies, resulting in not only date
alterations (we see 1599/8/6, 99/8 [this coin] and 99/6) but also initial mark
changes, in this case it was Anchor for 1599 overstruck on Key for 98. This scenario only started in 1598 as prior
to that date, we see very little, if any overdating –
even 1597 was a straight date. More
interesting still, this coin is the rarer AN over KY in ANG error. Ex Ewerby Hoard. Not a particularly pleasing coin but
nevertheless hugely interesting, very rare and benefiting from coming from that
well known, recent hoard – and by the way, this large hoard was very much made
up of worn coins from circulation with apparently zero consideration given for
any part of it to be “nice coins” – these were the coins available to the
individual who put that hoard together at that time. This 1599 is fairly representative across the
board in terms of grade, showing us that the general coinage in circulation in
the 1640’s – the given date of this hoard – was poor. It’s frustrating when people demand high
grade, choice sixpences and complain that all see are “battered, low grade”
examples. The Chris Comber and Walter
Wilkinson Elizabeth 1st collections had their fair share of coins
looking like this, even after many decades of collecting and upgrading. A rare coin.
SOLD
WTH-7708: 1589 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark Crescent, Spink
2578A. 1589 as a date represents a
frequency of 0.5% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.5% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1589 is the seventh rarest of all forty two dates. Very nice grade for such a late issue. SOLD
WTH-8030: 1598 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Anchor, Sixth issue, Spink
2578B. 1598 as a date represents a
frequency of 0.1% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1598 is the second rarest of all forty two dates
*** There was an economic depression
during the final years of the sixteenth century, a factor hugely relevant in
the rarity of this coin. This led to a
situation where there was an oversupply of dies. 1598 exists only as a straight 1598 but the
dies were used in subsequent years because so few coins were struck in 1598
that the existing dies were still fresh as a daisy! We see later 1599/8/6 and 1599/8 coins to
illustrate this. The more astute among you
may well be wondering how a 1598 coin can have an anchor as an initial mark
when anchor was 8th
Feb 1599 to 30th April 1600. Some may suggest the change from Julian to
Gregorian calendars? Although the
Gregorian calendar was adopted widely in 1582, it wasn't until 1752 that it was
adopted in the UK
- on that day, Wednesday
September 2nd 1752 was promptly followed by Thursday September
14th, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25th to January 1st. So it wasn't the Gregorian calendar but the
truth lies in that last statement: New Year's Day was moved from March
25th to January 1st. In 1598,
the year ended March 24th, thus initial mark anchor (8th Feb 1599
to 30th
April 1600) and a date of 1598 was perfectly
acceptable. Ex Ewerby Hoard. Not a particularly pleasing coin but
nevertheless hugely interesting, very rare and benefiting from coming from that
well known, recent hoard – and by the way, this large hoard was very much made
up of worn coins from circulation with apparently zero consideration given for
any part of it to be “nice coins” – these were the coins available to the
individual who put that hoard together at that time. This 1598 is fairly representative across the
board in terms of grade, showing us that the general coinage in circulation in
the 1640’s – the given date of this hoard – was poor. It’s frustrating when people demand high
grade, choice sixpences and complain that all see are “battered, low grade”
examples. The Chris Comber and Walter
Wilkinson Elizabeth 1st collections had their fair share of coins
looking like this, even after many decades of collecting and upgrading. A very rare coin indeed in the sixpence
series. SOLD
WTH-8992: 1571/0
Elizabeth 1st MILLED or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Large, crude bust with ear showing,
initial mark Castle over Lis, Spink 2600. The rarest date in the "milled"
series by a country mile. Queen
Elizabeth 1st herself visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses)
upon the occasion of the near completion of the recoinage on 10th July 1561. She met with Eloye Mestrelle and viewed his machinery. The visit was reported to be six hours in
length. Eleven years later, Eloye Mestrelle was dismissed
from the mint in 1572 and just six years after that, he was executed (hanged)
for counterfeiting. Eloye
Mestrelle's experiment effectively came to an end on 1st September 1568
when his kinsman, Philippe Mestrell was charged with
counterfeiting Burgundian gold coins. Unfortunately for Eloye
Mestrelle, he was implicated in the crime. Philippe Mestrell
was found guilty in January 1569 and subsequently executed at Tyburn. Eloye Mestrelle was successful in
suing for a pardon but that really was the beginning of the end. He wasn't allowed anywhere near gold, for
obvious reasons, and was restricted with milled silver to such an extent that
we see this coin with a previously unheard of retrograde N, an awkward portrait
of the Queen and a general low grade set of dies all round. This date was not a patch on his earlier
work, of which he was well aware as he adopted the ongoing initial marks of the
hammered series (for this year it was Castle) rather than continuing with his
own marks. Old tickets here.
Walter Wilkinson, on his original distinctive
ticket, gives this RRR rarity which is only one less R than the fabled undated
sixpence to which he gave a rarity of RRRR.
A great rarity in Elizabethan coinage with a back story to match
and a provenance that is quite remarkable.
If you need a 1570 milled 6d for your collection, this is surely the one
to get! SOLD
Provenance:
Ex Seaby
(1959)
Ex R. Carlyon-Britton
collection (1971)
Ex B.R. Noble collection, dispersed
through...
Glendining's Auction, 11-12 December 1975, lot 582
Ex Covent Garden collection, sold to...
Ex Chris Comber collection, sold 1986
to...
Ex Walter Wilkinson collection dispersed
through...
DNW Auction 148, 18-20th September 2018, lot 519
WTH-8994: 1600/159-
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark 0, bust
6B - Spink 2578B. For the vast bulk of
Elizabethan coinage, little or no foresight had been used regarding dates and
initial marks, resulting in glaring overdates when the old dies were used again
(recycled) in subsequent years, for example the famous 1578/7/6. There are many others. The penny dropped at the mint, eventually,
that perhaps sinking dies but omitting initial marks and with only partial
dates (those to be added when the dies were brought into use), might be a good
idea. Amusingly, this practice was
adopted in, wait for it, 1599 - the most inappropriate time possible because
the following year was 1600 with three digits changing as opposed to usually
one and rarely two! Rather than throw away
the prepared 159- "future-proof" dies, they decided to alter the
middle two digits from -59- to -60-. The
first digit (thankfully!) didn't need changing and all they had to do was add
the 0 to the end of the date, as well as add the initial mark in the gap
provided. Thus we have 1600 over 159-
coins. Interestingly, these 159- dies
were also used in 1601 but even after adding the final digit and changing the
middle two, they discovered that the first and last digits were so far apart in
time that they were actually from different punches and so different! Demand for English coin was much in decline
at this period so these were tiny mintages: 1600 as a date represents a
frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1600 is the fifth rarest of all forty two dates. I have to say that I don't see 1600 as being
as abundant as that, and I'm far from the only person saying that. A rare coin indeed. SOLD
WTH-8118: Unrecorded 1588 -
final 8 over sideways 8 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor
Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark Crescent, Spink
2578A. Note the two 8's are low down,
indicating both final digits were added to a finished 15-- die. In some instances, only the final 8 has been
added to a 158- die. This was a time of
austerity where relatively few coins were struck; the thought being that these
dies could be used over several years without the need to overdate. However, much more important is the final 8,
it being overstruck over a sideways 8.
Messrs. Brown, Comber & Wilkinson, the undisputed leading experts on
all things numismatically linked to Elizabeth 1st, in their research paper
(published 2006, updated 2012), state that there is but a single 1588 variety
recorded - of all the other dates in this series (1561 - 1602), 1597 and 1588
are the only dates to have a single type, everything else having multiple
dates, overdates, various errors etc, etc.
And yet this coin is ex Chris Comber collection - clearly
an addition to his collection (all three of them were actively adding to their
collection right up until the end) post the 2012 update to their research. Completely
unrecorded and unique at this point in time. Interestingly, the same employee at the mint
who thought a sideways 8 was a good idea to add to a 15-- die was probably
still employed in 1589 when he again thought a sideways 9 was an equally good
and acceptable idea! 1580 also has an 8
over a sideways 8. After 1589, no more
errors of this nature are recorded thus we can assume that he was either cured
of his sideways view on things or moved out!
1588 as a date represents a frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.2% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. 1588 is the fourth rarest of all
forty two dates. The
famous Spanish Armada date and although only 4th rarest in the
“league table”, this date is arguably the most sought after of all dates. A very important coin. SOLD
WMH-7873: Edward III
Medieval Hammered Silver Groat - a Rare Error.
Pre-Treaty, series C, 1351-52, London
mint although this coin has the very rare CIVI TAS DON DON reverse mint reading.
Spink 1565 var. Ivan Buck in his
seminal work on English hammered groats doesn't mention this and I don't ever
recall seeing one before, either. A
great rarity. SOLD
WTH-8160: Edward VI Hammered Billon
Silver Shilling. Second (debased) issue, January 1549 to April
1550. Bust 5, initial mark y. Dated 1550 so a rarer late dies coin. Tower (London) mint, Spink
2466B. An exceptionally good portrait,
being better than the Spink plate coin.
Easily VF for issue. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Martin Hewitt, his tickets (2005, sold for £250)
ex Spink (their ticket)
WTH-6894:
Henry VII
Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Type IIIc with IIIb bust. Spink
2199. London mint. Very clear initial mark Greyhound’s Head,
1502-1504. A very nice, desirable
coin. SOLD
WCA-5416: 1694 William & Mary Silver Proof Farthing. Plain edge.
Heavier than usual and with some wear so was obviously in circulation as
currency. Contemporary planchets fault
on reverse at 12 o’clock.
Unlisted in Peck. To
illustrate just how rare these silver proofs are, this was a random example I
had to hand – see here.
Rest assured, this will not cost you the £4,000+ ticket price after
commission!! Extremely rare. SOLD
WMH-8149: Richard II Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Type II
(retrograde Z preceding FRANC), London mint, Spink
1679. There was a distinct lack of
available bullion at this period to make coinage: Lord Stewartby (English
Coins 1180-1551, published 2009) states that ...during the reign of Richard II
(even at the end of Edward III), and most definitely going through the
subsequent reign of Henry IV, silver was haemorrhaging out of England to the
Continent at an alarming rate which was compounded by the fact that the country
was far from awash with silver in the first place - the price of silver on the
Continent was greater than in England and cross-channel merchants were quick to
take advantage. There are recorded
accounts showing the absolute dearth of both coinage in circulation and
available bullion during the reign of Richard II and Henry IV: in the Annals of
the Coinage of Great Britain, Rudding recounts a
licence issued to D.B. Goldsmiths of London to melt down groats, halfgroats and
pence to the sum of £100 in order to make a silver vessel for the use of
Margaret, Countess of Norfolk. Another
illustration was the meeting of Mac Murrough, an
Irish chief and the Earl f Gloucester in 1399. The chief arrived on a horse and being asked
how much such a wonderful horse had cost, he replied "four hundred
cows", it being the case that there was no physical money available so
bartering was the only means of trade.
Further, the actual groat dies were not really up to the mark in terms of
depth - Richard II groats are nearly always wishy-washy in appearance (just
look at the Spink plate coin - the best they could source with all their
collector contacts) and probably were if you were lucky enough to have one
fresh out of the mint in the late 1300's.
This is a remarkably good grade coin, being by far the best I've ever
had. Sold with an old dealer ticket with
£1,200 price. A quick browse of past
sales of type II groats will show you that far lesser grade coins sold for well
into four figures. A very desirable coin
indeed. SOLD
WTH-8123: High Grade 1602
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Seventh issue, initial mark 2 – the last ever date in the lengthy
Elizabeth 1st sixpence series.
Interestingly, the obverse initial mark 2 is overstruck on an earlier
initial mark 1. Spink 2585. 1602 as a date represents a frequency of 1.9%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.1% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
Outstanding grade for a coin so late in the series. Ex Chris Comber collection. SOLD
WAu-9018:
Celtic Iron Age
Full Gold Stater - Tasciovanus. Catulvellauni tribe, 25 BC - AD 10 Hidden faces type with
the obverse being Hidden Faces - crossed wreaths, one curved, back-to-back,
crescents at the centre with faces in the angles. The reverse has a horse in flight, right, a bucranium and a solar device above. TASCIAVAN is supposed to be above nut it
rarely is. Hook-like devices are found
below the horse but this coin has an extra object below, described as a
"bunch of grapes" on the ticket.
See here for weight. Again, Tasciovanus appears to have had ties with Rome as his coinage,
especially the later issues, use increasingly Romanised designs. Tasciovanus was an
excellent king but unusually, his greatness is perhaps overshadowed by that of
his son, Cunobelinus.
It is ironic that the hard work, strengthening and consolidation of the Catulvellauni by Tasciovanus
literally paved the way for Cunobelinus to shine so
illustriously. Spink 214, ABC 2553, Van
Arsdell 1680, BMC 1591-1603. An
outstanding and thus desirable coin. SOLD
WAu-7996:
Rare Celtic Gold
Broad Flan Type Quarter Stater. Ambiani tribe - imported from Gaul or specifically,
the modern day Rouen area of France, circa 3rd
century BC to the mid 1st century AD.
These were the first coins to be used in Britain. Gallo-Belgic
"Broad Flan" type with a rather impressive flamboyantly wreathed head
facing right on the obverse and a somewhat stylised horse on the reverse, again
facing right. Spink 6, ABC 28 (listed
"Rare") - Ancient British Coins (ABC) by Chris Rudd, the go-to
reference for Celtic coins since 2010, taking over from Van Arsdell. From an old collection - the collector does
not want to be named on the internet but is willing for me to disclose his name
and town to the buyer for provenance. See here for old tickets etc.
SOLD
Ex J.Follws collection
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for £500 back in the day)
Ex Northern collection
WTH-7955: Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver UNDATED Sixpence. Initial mark Lion, 1567, Third & Fourth
issues, Spink 2562A. Comber, Wilkinson
& Brown (2006, updated 2012) in their seminal publication on Elizabethan
coinage list only three examples recorded, one of which is held by the British
Museum
(ref CT-2201). My understanding is that
in the decade following on from the update, there are now four examples
recorded: the British Museum example, initial mark Lion, 1st February 1567 to
30th June 1567 [the CT-2201 coin], initial mark Coronet, 1st July 1567 to 28th
February 1570, initial mark Ermine, 19th April 1572 to 30th October 1573, and
this coin, another initial mark Lion, sold to the Comber collection in 2010
and, for whatever reason, not included in the 2012 update. Comber, Wilkinson & Brown do not go into
any details regarding the undated issues, save only to suggest that the reverse
dies on all sixpences were initially prepared with no date, that being added
later. That doesn't quite add up and to
be fair, Comber, Wilkinson & Brown do caveat their suggestion by stating
that overdates are known for most dates during this period. No Comber ticket (as is often the case - his
collection was vast and very much a work in progress right up to the end) but
Comber did annotate the earlier ticket with the maximum "RRRR". The more observant of you will see that
chronologically, an undated sixpence is missing from the initial mark Castle
period, there being two undated sixpences before initial mark Castle and one
after. It does seem a stretch to me that
these undated coins are simply down to carelessness at the mint - perhaps one,
but three? With an estimated Elizabeth
1st survival rate today of between four and ten coins per die, we might
conceivably look forward to the day when some lucky metal detector unearths
"Lucy", the missing link; an undated CASTLE sixpence?! Regulars will smile wryly, being all too
aware that I frequently bang on about 1597 being the rarest dated
sixpence. And so it is, but if you're an
Elizabeth 1st sixpence collector, the 1597 is as nothing compared to the rarity
of the legendary undated sixpence!! You
will likely never see another one of these for sale ever again. Ex Chris Comber collection, purchased DNW
2010. You'll need to be quick on this
one! SOLD
WTH-7959: 1574 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark obverse Eglantine; reverse
Eglantine over Acorn. One of the
clearest initial mark counterstamps you're ever likely to see. Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink
2563. What is of great interest here is
the obverse initial mark, it being originally an Acorn reverse die (1st November 1573
to 25th
May 1574) recycled for use as an Eglantine
coin (29th
May 1574 to 13th July 1578). There is no overdate evident although the
final digit, a 4, shows every indication of being added after the
die was cut, ie the reverse die was prepared with 157- in place with the final
digit to be added to correspond with whatever year it was when the die was
finally put into production. The
original Comber ticket highlights the overmark, attributing a very impressive
"RR" rarity rating to the coin.
Such initial mark overstamps are recorded and, as you'd expect, are very
rare indeed. There is a similar coin
listed on this site with Initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine which is
rarer still. Ex Brown, ex Wilkinson,
ex Chris Comber collections. A
very rare coin indeed with the added benefit of being endowed with attractive
toning and better grade. SOLD
WTH-7470: 1601
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Seventh Issue, initial mark 1,
Spink 2585. 1601 as a date represents a
frequency of 0.6% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.7% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1601 is the tenth rarest of all forty two dates. These later date coin, and you don’t get much
later than this, other than the obvious, were nearly always poorly struck,
often using dies of a lesser standard compared to the start of the reign. This coin is stunning, easily being the best
grade example I’ve ever had, or probably seen.
If it wasn’t for the damage, it would be a four figure coin. SOLD
WTH-7956: 1587/6/5 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Crescent, Bust 5B, Sixth issue,
Spink 2578. This is the much rarer 7
over 6 over 5 overdate (there is evidence of a high 5's lower crescent), this
being a recorded overdate, along with the 1587/6. Both overdates are equally rare with the
straight 87 being most commonly encountered.
1587 as a date represents a frequency of 0.9% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.0% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. 1587 is the twelfth rarest of all
forty two dates, but do please bear in mind that 12th rarest is
for a straight, non overdate 1587. Ex Lingford collection, purchased from Lingford by Baldwins
in 1951, ex Chris Comber collection.
SOLD
WTH-7957: 1577/6 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Eglantine, Bust 5A, Third &
Fourth issues, Spink 2563. The overdate
couldn't be clearer. It may be of
interest to read that this is such a rare date that there are only these 1577/6
overdates recorded, ie there are literally no straight 1577 coins, meaning that
all 1577 sixpence reverse dies were recycled from earlier years. 1577 as a date represents a frequency of 0.4%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.4% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1577 is the sixth
rarest of all forty two dates.
Nice grade and attractively toned thus a very rare coin. Ex Chris Comber collection. SOLD
WTH-7958: 1575 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine;
reverse Eglantine. Bust 5A, Third &
Fourth issues, Spink 2563. There is no
evidence of this date being 1575/2 as suggested in one of the unidentified
tickets and indeed, that combination currently does not exist as a recorded
overdate. What is of great interest is
the obverse initial mark, it being originally an Ermine die (19th April 1572
to 30th
October 1573) recycled for use as an Eglantine
coin (29th
May 1574 to 13th July 1578). No Comber ticket (as is often the case - his
collection was vast and very much a work in progress right up to the end) but
the old, unidentified ticket states "Eglantine over Acorn?" and then,
in another hand, "highly unlikely".
In my opinion, this coin was originally a much earlier Ermine - the two
upper horizontals being evident either side of the counterstamped
Eglantine. Such initial mark overstamps
are recorded and, as you'd expect, are very rare indeed. There is a similar coin listed on this site
with initial mark obverse Eglantine over Acorn; reverse Eglantine. Comber attributed a rarity value of
"RR" to that coin (this one would be rarer still), which illustrates
just how atypical these coins are. This
coin, initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine is rarer because of the
greater separation of time between the two marks. Bust 5 was introduced July or August 1573 on
Ermine dies thus this is a very late Ermine obverse die, altered to Eglantine,
and then paired with a mid-production Eglantine reverse. Ex Chris Comber collection. A very rare coin indeed. SOLD
WSax-7974: Edward the
Confessor Hammered Silver Saxon Penny.
Pointed helmet type, B.M.C. VII, c.1053-6 only. +STIRCOL ON EOFER - York
mint. Spink 1179. An outstanding well struck example, being the
best I've ever handled, slightly impaired by the ragged flan. Easily a four figure coin otherwise. SOLD
WTH-7977: Philip and Mary
Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Initial mark Lis,
1554-58. Spink 2508. Mary was the only child of Henry VIII (her
mother was Catherine of Aragon) to survive to adulthood. Mary quickly and efficiently disposed of Lady
Jane Gray – proclaimed Queen when Mary’s younger brother Edward VI, died at age
9 – by beheading her, a process not unfamiliar to her, being the daughter of
Henry VIII!! Mary’s marriage to Philip
of Spain was entirely political – his close aid once wrote: "The marriage
was concluded for no fleshly consideration!" Ex Lingford
(December 1948) collection, ex Chris Comber collection. SOLD
WI-7735: 1543 Henry
VIII Irish Hammered Silver Harp Groat. Third Harp
issue, 1543 only. 0.833 silver fineness, which interestingly,
in view of Henry VIII’s penchant for progressively
reducing the silver content of his coinage throughout the reign, is actually a
HIGHER silver content compared to the Second Harp issue of 1540-42. Rest assured though, the fourth issue was 0.666,
the fifth 0.500 and the sixth 0.250.
Initial mark Tudor Rose. Spink
6481. A very nice grade coin indeed,
possibly edging the Spink plate coin. SOLD
WTH-7802: 1562 Elizabeth 1st
Machine Screw-Press Silver Threepence.
Tall bust with no ear showing, initial mark Star, medium rose, Spink
2603. A much rarer denomination with
only x4 different dates. I again refer
the reader to the factual statement at the top of the Elizabeth 1st
page, highlighted in yellow, which will comprehensively illustrate just how
rare this denomination is. Spink sold a
similar example some time ago for £1,140 after commissions. It should be noted that in that auction,
Spink misidentified the coin by attributing it as Spink 2604. It was Spink 2603. Probably only the 3rd threepence I have ever had.
SOLD
WTH-7804: 1580 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence Fifth issue, initial mark Latin or Long
Cross, which was in use 1st June 1580 to 31st December
1581 so much more prevalent of 1581 coins.
Further, there are overdates recorded – 1580/79, of which this coin is
decidedly not – so it’s a fair assumption to date this coin to the latter
months of the second half of 1580.
Interestingly, no 1580 dies were recycled post this date. Likely to have been part of a hoard at some
point as the coin has been historically cleaned and the grade is
outstanding. Note the reverse, which as
good as you’ll ever see on one of these.
The coin is probably not far off “as struck” with the obverse being a
tad under-struck, coupled with some slight double striking. Even taking grade out of the equation, this
is a particularly well made specimen, especially as 1580 is at the point where
quality of the dies and the actual end product started to fall off the
cliff! There is a scratch to the neck
which could be as a result of recovery from the ground, or perhaps a test
scratch to ascertain authenticity because the coin was probably a stand-out
example when it hit the streets. Just
speculation, though. 1580 as a date
represents a frequency of 3.7% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 4.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. Spink 2572.
A very desirable coin. SOLD
WCom-7854: 1649 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. Initial mark Sun,
struck London (Commonwealth coinage, particularly the early, larger
denominations, was fairly London-centric in their circulation anyway), Spink
3217. It is interesting to note that
being the very first date in Cromwell's "non reign", the design was
perhaps more style over substance. In
subsequent years, although clearly not in 1650, more thought was put into the
die design in order to produce a better all-round coin - no pun intended. To all intents and purposes, this 1649 design
is unique to this single year, albeit extremely subtle to the uneducated
eye! I strongly recommend you browse the
excellent Sun & Anchor website which is dedicated to Commonwealth
coinage. Regarding the reference on the
ticket to the "Shove Groat" game: until fairly recently, and it may
even still be going somewhere today, shove hapenny
was a pub game. I'm aware of Edward VI
fine silver shillings being used where the coin was always obverse down, thus
attracting much more wear that side.
Incidentally, these coins, and coins of a similar period as well, are
sometimes marked in the fields with graffiti - this is thought to be players of
this parlour game putting their own identifying marks on their "gaming
coins". Shakespeare actually refers
to Edward VI shillings being used in this way (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and
the famous Stuart, self-named "Water Poet", John Taylor, wrote
several lines about the Edward VI shove shilling game in his "Travailes of a Shilling" work (London, 1621). However, I think it's a stretch to say this
Commonwealth shilling has lived a life of
"Shove Groat" (groats were an earlier iteration of this game
which were very much superseded by shillings): there was no obvious obverse on
these coins (Cromwell was adamant he was not to appear monarch-like by having
his portrait on coinage, at least until he had a change of heart in 1656! and
1658!) and I'm aware of no evidence that in a time when Edward VI coinage would
still be circulating, especially outside of London, Commonwealth coins were
used for this act. It was the obverse or
head being face down that was the important thing in the game, other than
winning!! So, probably nothing to do
with any of the above (!), but none-the-less, a rarer, sought after year. SOLD
WSC-7744:
1625 Charles 1st
Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings.
First coinage, first date in series, Spink 5543. This is an excessively rare issue – Charles’
Scottish coronation didn’t happen until 1633 and no new dies were produced
until then. Dies of James VI were
altered, under an official directive, and coinage was issued as Charles 1st
using the old, modified dies This
resulted in the Twelve Shilling and Six Shilling coins literally having a bust
of James VI on the front with just a quick name change to the legend and a
tweak or two to the beard. This Charles
1st Six Shilling issue, along with the James VI Six Shilling issue,
often goes well under the radar with many people think these coins are simply
English dated sixpences. I refer the
reader to the Scottish James VI section of this website for extra
information. You might be thinking that
this isn’t much of a coin to look at and just looking at it, you’d be correct. However, nice grade examples do not turn up
simply because this issue was generally poorly struck using modified, often
worn-out dies. The Spink plate coin is a
£5,000+ coin. This is one of the rarest
Charles 1st Scottish silver coin issues, if not the rarest. I’d be surprised if this coin didn’t attract
a buyer very quickly. SOLD
WAu-7765:
1710 Queen Anne
Full Gold Guinea. Post Scottish
union, third draped bust, Spink 3574. 8.36g. It won’t have escaped your notice that with
Queen Anne gold coinage in particular, when they do come up, they are almost
always HALF guineas. It really is hard
work finding full guineas. Very light ex
mounting marks at 11, 12 and 1 o’clock but again, find one that doesn’t
these days. However, they really are
minor and do not detract. Sold with a
ticket that made no mention of mount marks.
SOLD
WSC-9059: James VI Scottish
Hammered Silver Eightpenny Groat. Coinage of 1583-90, being before James VI
took on the English throne after the death of Elizabeth 1st in
1604. Edinburgh mint. An issue of 0.25 fineness. OPPID EDINB legend with hairline inner
circles, Spink 5512. An excellent
example for type. SOLD
WAu-7999: Extremely Rare Celtic
Unrecorded Quarter Stater. North Thames Region, Eastern.
The x33 uninscribed coins found predominantly in the Eastern part of the
North Thames Region, especially Essex, can not be comfortably attributed to the
Trinovantes nor the Catuvellauni. They
are all extremely rare (Van Arsdell only listed x7). Current attribution has this coin in the
"Cantian-inspired gold and silver types"
category. Obverse plain field apart from
a single "S" shape in the centre (the main image did not really
highlight the "S" so I've added another image here) - reverse
"S" symbols are thought to represent lightning flashes
rather than letters although this "S" is not inverted / the reverse
depicts a tree-like trophy on a triad of ringed pellets with various motifs
surrounding. Spink not listed, ABC 2249
(listed "Extremely Rare") - Ancient British Coins (ABC) by Chris
Rudd, the go-to reference for Celtic coins since 2010, taking over from Van
Arsdell. From an old collection - the
collector does not want to be named on the internet but is willing for me to
disclose his name and town to the buyer for provenance. See here for old
tickets etc. SOLD
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for
£650 back in the day)
Ex Northern collection
WMH-9037: Edward V or Richard III
Hammered Silver Medieval Groat. Type
2a, reading EDWARD DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC.
London mint, initial mark Boar's Head 1
struck over Sun & Rose 1. Spink
2155. Obverse dies in the name of Edward
with an underlying Sun & Rose 1 initial mark. In 1483, on 12th February, the Cinquefoil
coinage of Edward IV's type XXI ended.
The new mint master, Bartholomew Reed, entered into an indenture with
the king and thus Sun & Rose 1 was introduced. Edward died on the 9th
April 1483
but Sun & Rose 1 continued through the very short reign of Edward V and
into the reign of Richard III. This
ended on 20th July when a new indenture was prepared by Robert Brackenbury to introduce the Boar's Head mark. The dies were prepared very soon after
Richard III ascended the throne on 26th June 1483.
Boar’s Head initial mark - the White Boar was the personal device or
badge of Richard III and dear to his heart.
Richard III was the last of the medieval monarchs, losing to Henry Tudor
on Bosworth
Field, or
as is now the current thinking, on a field a few short miles from that famous
location. 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 more than any other medieval
monarch. Don't believe all that
Shakespeare tells you!! So here we have
a coin struck from an obverse die that was very much part of the Holy Grail of
Edward V's coinage but modified by the addition of Richard III's
beloved Boar’s Head initial mark, but crucially leaving the old regnal name
intact. Coincraft place this coin under
the Edward V category whilst Spink place it under Richard III. Incidentally, as a Richard III groat, it is
the rarest type, other than the York example - the last one of those I
saw go through auction achieved £7,000 before commission. An extremely rare coin indeed. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Spink (sold August 2014 for £3,010)
ex Frank Limouze collection (dispersed 2024)
WMH-7711:
William 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C.
1, Profile left, cross fleury issue of
1066-68. +BRIHTNAR ON PIN – Britmar of Wallingford (Oxford).
Spink 1250. A rare Norman
mint. Only two other examples recorded
on the EMC / SCBI database, making this the third and one of those is
unconfirmed. This is a better coin than
the other confirmed example. Ex Seaby (sold for £275 in 1979), ex Royal Berkshire
Collection – see
tickets. Nicely toned, good VF. A superb coin going all the way back to the
actual Norman invasion – Harold’s arrow to the eye, the Bayous Tapestry etc. SOLD
WI-9034: Excellent Edward VI Irish Tudor Hammered Silver Groat or
Sixpence. Posthumous (Henry VIII) old head coinage,
1547 - 1550. CIVI TAS DVB LINIE - Dublin mint. Initial mark P. The final type IV issue (small right facing
bust; very much in the style of the English Tower groats) and so nearer to 1550 in
date. Spink 6488. Struck in the name of Henry VIII and with the
old head portrait of Henry VIII, even though by the time this coin hit the
streets of Ireland, Henry had been dead for nearly
three years. The reason for the old
king's details on the coinage was not, as most people understand, simply
because Edward was too young to do "kingly stuff", or because people
still loved the old king, or even that the Irish were slow off the mark - it
was actually done to con the people, or rather to carry on conning the people,
but conning them just a little bit more.
Actual Henry VIII base coinage, struck towards the end of his reign, was
very debased as a way of making money for the mint, and therefore the country,
after Henry had all but emptied the country's coffers. The English ministers planned to bring the
currency of England (not Ireland!) back up to .925 alloy from
little better than copper and indeed they did this in 1551 with the English
fine silver issues. To pay for this, the
Irish debased coinage would continue for a further x4 years after the death of
Henry and crucially, having the old king's name and portrait on the coins would,
it was thought, trick the public into accepting the poor coins. Remember, the coin in your hand back then was
supposed to be the face value in silver, so much so that the coin itself was
largely irrelevant - all you needed was a penny's worth of scrap silver to
purchase a penny loaf of bread. These
debased coins were far from being worth their face value in metal. The bit where the English ministers conned
the people just a little bit more was in making the silver content of the
Edward VI coinage just a little bit better than the worst of the Henry VIII
coinage BUT they increasing the face value from a groat (fourpence)
to a sixpence WITHOUT upping the metal content.
Basically, same coin but a revaluation.
To further rub salt into the wound, whilst in 1551 the English were
enjoying bright shiny fine silver coinage of .925 alloy, the Irish, in 1552,
having suffered in order to pay for the English fine silver halcyon days,
suffered further by having their coinage reduced even more to .250! So here we have a coin that is Henry VIII
and/or Edward VI and a denomination of 4d and/or 6d! More importantly, we have here an excellent
grade example with an unusually clear initial mark. Superior to the Spink plate coin in terms
of edge and legends. A rare offering. SOLD
Provenance
Ex Tim
Owen
WTH-9028: 1586 Medal Beseeching
Help From Elizabeth 1st. A dated Jetton or Medalet
from the Low Countries imploring Elizabeth 1st step in and help with the trouble Belgium was having with Portugal.
As ever with these pieces, symbolism abounds: two handcuffed (Belgian)
hands reaching for the compassionate heart of Elizabeth 1st and England.
MI(i)134/89.
Sold with an old Netherlands' ticket. The first example of this medalet
I've seen. SOLD
WI-9050: Henry VIII with Anne
Boleyn Hammered Silver Irish Groat.
Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, the
second and probably most famous of his six wives. Spink 6472.
The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 and the rarest of the three
wives mentioned on silver coinage, irrespective as to what Spink claim. Dated to 1534-5, in commemoration of a
marriage that lasted just three years, produced the future Queen Elizabeth 1st
but ultimately ended in Anne losing her head, quite literally, because she
could not produce a male heir. This
issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with later issues going the same way as that
of the English silver coinage under Henry, ie downhill. This is only the third Anne Boleyn groat
I've had, the first I remember selling within minutes of it being listed. Sold with an old (unidentified) ticket. A rare coin and in exceptional grade for
issue. SOLD
WI-7266:
Irish Henry
VIII Hammered Silver Groat. Issued
in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour.
Spink 6473. The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 but this coin dated
1536-7 in commemoration of Henry’s marriage.
Subsequent wives to see their names (initials) in lights, or
specifically on Harp groats, were Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Anne of Cleves
seems to have been overlooked by Henry and by the time of Catherine Parr, he
seemed to have realised that perhaps the coinage couldn’t keep up with his
marriages. This issue is at 0.842 silver
fineness with later issues going the same way as that of the English silver
coinage, ie downhill. See here for old tickets
– ex Spink, ex Bosworth. Rare. SOLD
WI-7575:
Rare Type 1
1722 George 1st Irish William Wood’s Copper Halfpenny. Slabbed
under NGC and graded by them as AU 50, meaning about Uncirculated. Spink 6600.
Extra images here
and here. Rare in this grade, rarer still being this
first issue. Incidentally, when you
visit the NGC page for this coin, it states that the current market value,
something it helpfully does for all NGC slabbed coins, is £658, although
bizarrely, EF grade in Spink 2020 is £1,200 in EF and NGC seem to think this
coin is a grade above EF?! Contemporary
planchet faults at 12 o’clock and 3
o’clock, otherwise a
wonderful coin in both rarity and grade.
SOLD
WI-8101: 1690 Irish Gun Money Full
Crown. James II emergency Civil War
coinage of 1689-91. Spink 6578. Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns
because by 1690 these were obsolete; replaced by the small size
halfcrowns. Much original halfcrown
detail still evident on the reverse, which is what sets this coin above nearly
all others - I don't recall
ever having seen the original host date of 1689 being not only so visible but literally
next to the new date of 1690 before!
The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is just the crowns) has
similarities to the earlier Charles 1st halfcrowns and crowns, which
I’m sure was far from accidental. It
won’t have escaped readers’ attention that Gun Money coinage is currently
riding high in terms of popularity.
After fleeing from England to France in 1688 – an effective abdication
from the English throne – James II landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to
promote his Catholic cause, something we are perhaps still living with
today?! He had insufficient funds to
prosecute this war so the plan was to raise money by issuing base metal coinage
in place of what would previously have been silver issues. This was a less subtle example of the
Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago. This coinage was set up with an intention for
them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had settled. This never happened. The metal for these coins came from old
cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”. Although not looking high grade, it actually
is - it's the soft strike resulting in the halfcrown detail being visible which
accounts for this. A very good and
desirable coin indeed. SOLD
WSC-9051: 1694
Scottish William & Mary Silver Five Shillings. Conjoined
heads to the left, WM monogram on the reverse. Spink 5665 but the much rarer variation where the second V in GVLIELMVS is
an inverted A. I have never seen this variety before
although Spink do list it. The exact mintage of this date and denomination was just 3,496 between
5th Jan to 5th Dec 1694. This is tiny and just shows you how little Scottish
coinage in general was minted. That,
coupled with the remarkable grade this coin is in - Scottish coinage was in
such short supply that it was constantly being used / circulated / worn; never
being hoarded - illustrates just how rare this coin is. SOLD
WCom-9048:
1653 Oliver Cromwell
Silver Medal. A cast medium sized
silver medal by T. Simon to commemorate the elevation of Cromwell to the
position of Lord Protectorate on 16th December 1653. Old tickets here. The portrait of Cromwell was copied from a
miniature by Cooper which was held by the Duke of Devonshire, their seat still
being Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
The British Museum holds a gold example of this medal. The reverse die of this medal broke across
the middle very early on and wasn't replaced, thus resulting in a very limited
mintage. Medallic Illustrations (i) 409/45 and Eimer 188b.
Some original mercury gilding evident on the reverse. A rare medal.
SOLD
Provenance:
Ex "Numismata
Cromwelliana", the property of a gentleman
WAu-9025: Charles 1st Hammered
Gold SCOTTISH Eighth Unit. Third
coinage, 1637-42, Briot issue, right at the start of
this coinage. Spink 5538. An EF grade coin, far surpassing the plate
coin Spink put up, with all the vast resources at their fingertips. Some interesting political graffiti lightly
behind the king's head ("6" - obviously someone back in the day
making a point as to the Scottish heritage of both the coin and the king) which
is barely discernable and would polish out if desired. An outstanding coin with equally impressive
provenance. See here for all the old
tickets and here
for weight. An exciting and very rare
Scottish hammered gold offering. SOLD
Provenance
Ex Mark Rasmusson (2013),
sold to
Ex Maurice Bull collection,
dispersed to
Ex Noonans
(Feb 2023 where it sold for £4,128 including buyer's commission)
WAu-8088:
Charles II
Restoration Period Hammered Gold Crown.
First issue, initial mark Crown, circa very early in the 1660-62
hammered period. Obverse 3, reverse 3
dies. Spink 3303, North 2757, Schneider
389, Bull 114 (plate coin). Pierced and
plugged (immediately to the left of the obverse initial mark / around the
letter R of the reverse – die rotation 10h).
I bought this as a nEF, unplugged coin because
even though I’d looked closely, I did not spot the plug. In honesty, I still can’t place it with any high
degree of certainty as it’s a top rate job.
If the paperwork (which came to me after I’d bought the coin) stating
the presence of the plug were to become disassociated from this coin, I doubt
anyone would ever notice – the workmanship is that good. This extremely late hammered coinage period
of 1660-62, even though it spanned three issues, was very much treading water
and just really getting anything out there that would reassure the public of
the Restoration of the monarchy and the demise of the Commonwealth. The quality of coinage in general was not
good and did deteriorate through the issues – you only have to look at the
hammered halfcrown issues to see that.
Everyone at the mint was aware that hammered coinage was dead in the
water and that milled coinage was coming (indeed, Blondeau
was getting everything together, ready for production of his new milled
coinage, literally as this coin was being minted) so the dies were mediocre at
best, as was the actual execution of the coinage. And yet look at the state of this coin,
especially the obverse! What a
tremendous coin! Something else to bear
in mind: Blondeau needed all the silver and gold he
could get his hands on for the onset of milled coinage, and the country was
still teetering on bankruptcy after the Commonwealth, so very little bullion
was actually put into the hammered years.
A very rare, attractive and desirable coin. SOLD
