A selection of some of the
better / more interesting coins SOLD through
HistoryInCoins.com
in 2026
WI-9253: A
Truly Exceptional, "As Struck" Irish Charles 1st Hammered
Silver “BLACKSMITH’S” Halfcrown. The
Great Rebellion - issue of the Confederate Catholics, circa 1642. Struck at Kilkenny. Initial mark Cross Pattee (obv), Irish Hark (rev). Struck shortly after 15th November 1642, very much in
the style of the London Tower issues but from
crude dies, hence "Blacksmith". A very clear reverse initial mark Harp (this
image being taken in natural light, via a camera phone and actually being much
more representative of the actual coin itself). Obverse initial image is a Cross. 13.41g, 8h, and 35mm. Bull 30, D&F 335, CC IC1HC-030, Spink
6557A. An unusually high
grade example of this excessively rare, usually poor issue and rare thus. Coincraft states: “...struck in Kilkenny, this issue was very
crude in both style and production…” I
dug out my (very) old listing of a previous Blacksmith halfcrown in which I'd
stated: "If you’re waiting to acquire something resembling an English
Charles 1st half crown for your collection, even in Fine or less grade, save
yourself an indeterminate wait as they do not exist". I was perhaps a little hasty in that
statement because apart from the obvious crude nature of the dies and the
angled strike, this coin is actually as good, and better, than a lot of English
Charles 1st halfcrowns! Imaged here are the
only other two examples of this issue that I have owned and sold over many
decades. Moving on to the Coincraft
plate examples (S.R.6557 and 6557A), both show decent reverses but both
obverses are blurred / wishy-washy; an indication as to just how hard it was to
get these Blacksmith dies up to muster - or perhaps this was an intentional
feature by the moneyer as worn coins attract far less attention, something to
be coveted if you're issuing non-Regal coin!
The S.R. plate coins are quite good examples (as you'd expect, those
plate coins probably being the two best grade examples extant), but even there,
the level of detail for Charles 1st is not a patch as to what it is on this
coin. The dies were not only crude but
were made with perhaps not intentional built-in wear, but in a way that made it
nigh on impossible for a quality coin to be produced from said dies. Those of you familiar with this issue will
appreciate just how good an example this coin actually is, albeit minted with a
very angled strike.
The silver content of this coin in particular would easily have been
good enough to sit alongside all the other eclectic coinage of the day as
general currency in 1600's Ireland.
Only 4,000 of these coins were struck, using at least two different
obverse dies, which is a tiny number - I recently came across some research by
the excellent Chris Comber, Walter Wilkinson and David Brown which stated that Elizabeth
1st sixpences had a current-day survival rate of between 4-10 coins per die. Now although slightly earlier in date,
Elizabeth 1st sixpences are clearly going to be greater survivors that Irish
Blacksmith halfcrowns struck during the tumultuous period of the English Civil
War, so by those figures, 20 extant Blacksmith halfcrowns would be exceedingly
optimistic! Note the regnal name together
with the king's upper half - beautifully toned and getting on for EF in grade,
which is frankly amazing. In view of
what I wrote above [... dies were not only crude but were made with perhaps
not intentional built-in wear, but in a way that made it nigh on impossible for
a quality coin to be produced from said dies], I'd suggest a Blacksmith
halfcrown could never be minted in high grade, no matter how good the dies
were, UNLESS the strike was angled, such was the nature of the dies themselves,
together with the "Blacksmith's" undoubted skill at making horseshoes
but perhaps not so much at minting coins!
A fabulous and excessively rare coin. Find better!!
SOLD
WSC-9260: 1553
Scottish Mary Portrait Testoon. First period, 1542-58, before
marriage. Type 1 with crowned bust, right and a crowned
shield on the reverse with a cinquefoil both sides. Edinburgh.
c.f. S.R.5401.
In 1553, Mary would have been just 11 years old. Struck in lead from official dies, presumably
to fool nobody, rather to be used as an official pass or ticket (see
http://www.HistoryInCoins.com/A.29-7-23-1.jpg for a similar concept), perhaps
to allow entry into and out of Edinburgh?
For me, I think that of all the varied and different coinage from this
reign, including the gold left facing portrait issues, and even the later
portrait testoons where Mary adopts the same
fashionable high hair line as Elizabeth 1st (they never met although Mary
pushed hard for such a meeting over many years, so I wonder if this later
depiction was some sort of homage to Elizabeth?), this is the one that most
captures the essence of who Mary really was, or at least who I think Mary
really was - the history books are sometimes less than accurate on such
matters, especially those written south of the border! A very interesting coin and
with a price tag of £20,000+ for the silver issue coin in a similar grade to
this one, a very attractive alternative.
SOLD
Provenance:
Unknown collection (old coin
cabinet ticket)
ex Spink
WJC-7474: 1642 Charles 1st
Shrewsbury Declaration Civil War Pound of Twenty Shillings. King on horseback, plume
behind; Declaration between two straight lines, three Shrewsbury plumes
above, five pellets to the left of the declaration. S.R. 2917, North 2361, Brooker 796. A
most interesting (unique?) coin struck in lead alloy, but being almost of the
correct weight (or at least it would have been if the silver plating was still
intact) of the silver example, which it needed to be in order to pass as the
real thing. However, lead is nearly 10%
heavier than silver, so there must have been some clever metallurgical manipulation
of the alloy in order to get this so precisely to just under 120g with the
correct diameter (54mm) and thickness (5mm)!
Sold with an old auction information slip as well as a
collector’s cabinet ticket. I
have never seen anything like this before – it was certainly an ambitious
undertaking by the counterfeiter. SOLD
WJC-9324: Charles
II Bi-Metallic Ticket-Token for the Touching Ceremony. Copper surround, brass insert. Obverse: a three-masted
ship in sail to left with a six pointed star below. Toothed border. CAR.II.D.G.M.B.FR.ET.HI.REX. Reverse: St Michael piercing the
dragon with a six pointed star below. Toothed border. SOLI
DEO GLORIA. “Touching Ceremonies” was
where the monarch of the day, in this case Charles II, personally gave out gold
touch pieces to sufferers of Scrofula (tubercular infection, to which it is
estimated that 1% of the London population suffered) in order to cure
them. Charles II personally attended
these ceremonies, acting as God's own emissary upon the earth - Charles personally
touching the Touch Piece was effectively God touching it. Sufferers were invited and issued with an
official Ticket-Pass to admit them to the ceremony. You gave your Ticket-Pass in at the door,
entered the ceremony, got touched by the king and hopefully left as a cured
individual. These Ticket-Tokens were
collected and re-issued for the next Touching Ceremony. 105,000 people were Touched
by Charles II with around 360 sufferers being admitted to each ceremony.
However, the officials used three designs of Ticket-Tokens: brass, copper or a
combination of both. To prevent fraud,
officials alternated the type of Ticket-Token used. The bi-metallic copper & brass
Ticket-Tokens are much rarer than the other two types. It is interesting to note the significant wear
on this Ticket-Token: although resembling a copper halfpenny, this Ticket-Token
could not have entered circulation as currency for two reasons. Firstly, it’s not wholly copper; what was on
the coin in those days mattered very little, but that it was copper was
essential. Secondly, it is inconceivable
that a recipient sufferer would have forfeited his or her chance of being cured
by the king for a mere halfpence. The officials would not have let this
Ticket-Token out into circulation either so we can deduce that the wear on the
Ticket-Token is down to it having been issued many times so it likely to be a
piece from early on in the reign of Charles II.
Peck 499 and listed as Very Scarce.
SOLD
Provenance:
ex
Colin Cook (2005)
WJC-9325: Charles
II Copper Ticket-Token for the Touching Ceremony. Copper throughout. Obverse: a three-masted
ship in sail to left with a six pointed star below. Toothed border. CAR.II.D.G.M.B.FR.ET.HI.REX. Reverse: St Michael piercing the
dragon with a six pointed star below. Toothed border. SOLI
DEO GLORIA. “Touching Ceremonies” was
where the monarch of the day, in this case Charles II, personally gave out gold
touch pieces to sufferers of Scrofula (tubercular infection, to which it is
estimated that 1% of the London population suffered) in order to cure
them. Charles II personally attended
these ceremonies, acting as God's own emissary upon the earth - Charles personally
touching the Touch Piece was effectively God touching it. Sufferers were invited and issued with an
official Ticket-Pass to admit them to the ceremony. You gave your Ticket-Pass in at the door,
entered the ceremony, got touched by the king and hopefully left as a cured
individual. These Ticket-Tokens were
collected and re-issued for the next Touching Ceremony. 105,000 people were Touched
by Charles II with around 360 sufferers being admitted to each ceremony.
However, the officials used three designs of Ticket-Tokens: brass, copper or a
combination of both. To prevent fraud,
officials alternated the type of Ticket-Token used. The bi-metallic copper & brass
Ticket-Tokens are much rarer than the other two types. It is interesting to note the wear on this
Ticket-Token: although resembling a copper halfpenny, this Ticket-Token would
not have entered circulation as currency because it is inconceivable that a
recipient sufferer would have forfeited his or her chance of being cured by the
king for a mere halfpence. The officials would not have let this
Ticket-Token out into circulation either so we can deduce that the wear on the
Ticket-Token is down to it having been issued many times, thus it likely to be
a piece from early on in the reign of Charles II. Peck 496 and listed as Scarce. SOLD
Provenance:
ex
Colin Cook (2005)
WJC-9317: 1631-39
Charles 1st Silver Pattern Halfgroat.
Nicolas Briot's first milled issue of 1631 -
1632 only. Obv: King Charles 1st, facing
right and with no crown, with a sizable ruff, rev: x2 crowned interlocked C's
indication denomination. S.R.2856A. These do turn up
but when they do, they're invariably worn - the Briot
dies produced excellent coins but were unfortunately shallow in relief and thus
did not stand up well against circulatory wear.
This coin very much VF for issue and thus rare. SOLD
Provenance:
1973
(unidentified) ticket priced at a lowly £18 and later corrected from Groat to
Halfgroat
WJC-7521:
1614 James 1st
Hammered Silver Dated Sixpence. Second Coinage, fourth bust, initial mark Cinquefoil. S.R. 2658. An excessively rare date
being fairly comparable with 1618 which S.R. rate at £850 - £2,750. I had always understood there to be only two
known examples recorded of 1614 but the literature accompanying this coin
states four known examples. Lingford collection, sold to Baldwin’s 1951 (their old ticket) with
their 1951 auction estimate given as £500 - £700. Ex Wootton
collection. SOLD
WTH-9302: Elizabeth
1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Shilling "Milled"
coinage, initial mark Star, 1560-66. Without rose or date; decorated dresss, small size (29.5mm diameter), S.R. 2592. When you consider that “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”, you gain an insight into just how rare all non
1562 milled coins are. 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.
When this 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. Old
tickets here. These milled shillings had no great depth of
design, particularly on the portrait, thus they invariably turn up worn. This is a very good example. SOLD
Provenance:
Old sales list ticket,
grading the coin at VF
ex Michael Trenerry - his
ticket, dated 2023, priced £795
WMH-8112: High Grade Henry VI
Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. First reign, Pinecone-Mascle issue of 1431-32/3, Calais mint. S.R. 1875. The town of Calais in what is now Northern France was under English rule
from 1347 until 7 January 1558, being a bit of a
vanity statement for the English monarchs in their claim on the French crown.
It cost almost 1/5th of all the revenue collected in England to maintain Calais as an English
possession. The mint closed in 1440
after really only producing limited coinage under Edward III, a tiny amount of
gold under Richard II and Henry IV, a miniscule quantity of farthings under
Henry V and some of the earlier coinage of Henry VI. Sold with
an early 1980's ticket using an old fashioned typewriter. Better than VF - a most
attractive coin. SOLD
WMH-9300: Choice
Grade Henry VI Medieval Hammered Silver Penny First reign, Annulet issue of 1422-30. Full flan. The rarer London mint.
Initial mark Plain Cross. Annulets in two reverse
quarters; no annulets to the obverse.
0.91g. S.R.1844,
Whitton 3a. Henry
VI was born December 6, 1421 in Windsor, Berkshire and died May 21 or 22, 1471 in London.
He reigned from 1422 to 1461 and then from 1470 to 1471. He was a pious
and studious recluse whose incapacity for government was one of the causes of the
Wars of the Roses. From a small collection of high
grade, medieval coins; this penny being no exception, especially when you
consider the generally indifferent nature of Henry VI pennies, although to be
fair, the Calais pennies somewhat buck this trend. An attractive and pleasing
coin. SOLD
WMH-9299: Choice
Grade Henry VI Medieval Hammered Silver Groat First reign, Annulet issue of 1422-30. Full flan. The rarer London mint.
Initial mark Pierced Cross (1422-27).
Annulets to reverse legend and in two reverse
quarters; no annulets to the obverse.
No fleur to the breast. 3.71g. S.R.1835, Whitton 12a. Henry
VI was born December 6, 1421 in Windsor, Berkshire and died May 21 or 22, 1471 in London.
He reigned from 1422 to 1461 and then from 1470 to 1471. He was a pious
and studious recluse whose incapacity for government was one of the causes of
the Wars of the Roses. From a small collection of high
grade, medieval coins; this groat being no exception! SOLD
WMH-9301: Choice
Grade Henry VI Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny First reign, Annulet issue of 1422-30. Full flan. The better London mint.
Initial mark Pierced Cross (1422-27).
Annulets in two reverse quarters; no annulets to the
obverse. 0.54. S.R.1848, Whitton
5. Henry VI was born December
6, 1421 in
Windsor, Berkshire and died May 21 or 22, 1471 in London.
He reigned from 1422 to 1461 and then from 1470 to 1471. He was a pious
and studious recluse whose incapacity for government was one of the causes of
the Wars of the Roses. From a small
collection of high grade, medieval coins. Full legends, toned - a very nice, superior
example. SOLD
WSax-7896:
Harold 1st Late
Saxon Hammered Silver Penny.
Fleur-de-lis type, B.M.C. V, Spring 1038-40. London mint.
Obverse armoured and
diademed bust left, +HAROLD REC R; reverse voided long cross with
fleur-de-lis between two pellets: +BRINTNER ON LV – moneyer Brintner
struck at the London mint. 0.96g. S.R. 1165. Harold was elected regent of England following the death of his father
in 1035. He initially ruled England in place of his brother
Harthacnut, who was stuck in Denmark due to a rebellion in Norway.
It was not until 1037 that Harold, supported by earl Leofric
and many others, was officially proclaimed king. If you’re in the market for trivia, the term Harefoot is said to mean “fleet of foot”. Harold died at Oxford on 17 March
1040, just
as Harthacnut was preparing an invasion force of Danes, and was buried at
Westminster Abbey. His body was subsequently exhumed, beheaded, and thrown into
a fen bordering the Thames when Harthacnut assumed the throne in June 1040. The Saxon kings were not ones to hide their
feelings about people, even blood relatives!
Possibly an ex hoard coin, now beginning to re-tone. Very nice grade. SOLD
WSC-9008: James II Scottish
Hammered Silver Stuart Groat. Circulated at six pence.
First coinage, Edinburgh mint. Third (type IIIa) fluer-de-lis issue with tall, narrow crown - S.R. 5225. Old
tickets here. R.W. Kirton states on his ticket that the crescent stop reverse
of this coin is unpublished. The other
ticket highlights the apparent die flaw to the king's face as possibly being an
attempt by the die sinker to highlight the large birthmark which is known to
have disfigured the king's left side. SOLD
Provenance:
J & R Edmiston
Auction, Glasgow, May 1976
ex R.A. Macpherson collection,
September 2009
ex R.W. Kirton collection (an
excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of
Scottish coinage)
WJC-7062:
1638 Silver
Medal – Prince Charles Invested into the Order of the Garter. As symbolic as you’d perhaps expect from this
period, this is an interesting medal depicting entry into that rather exclusive
club that still exists today.
Membership
is limited to the monarch and his / her first-born and up to 24 “companions” -
along the lines of Dr Who. Charles 1st
as monarch in 1638 and Prince Charles (the future Charles II, once Oliver
Cromwell had gone away) were automatic members.
Then and now, the lucky recipients were / are hand picked by the
monarch. Today the Order of The Garter
is open to women, although it has to be said that there are currently only
three of those. In 2018, 2019 and 2020,
three members sadly died (all men), meaning that there are currently three
vacancies should any reader be interested.
More recent members include Sir Winston Churchill and Sir John Major,
the latter being an ex Prime Minister, although perhaps more famous for his
avatar appearing on Spitting Image in the 1990’s with some peas. Eimer 131 (£500 /£900, 21 years ago back in
2000), Medallic Illustrations (i) 282/88. An interesting piece of
British history. SOLD
WAu-9297: Celtic
Britain Gold Stater - Trinovantes: Addedomaros. Full gold stater: Crossed Wreath type with a
reverse horse, facing right, a wheel below, A DOM above and an annulet with
pellet (clogged dies) below that.
Originally occupying an area around their main centre of Colchester, they were neighbours of the
Catuvellauni tribe - their base being around St Albans - and later appeared to have
amalgamated under the control of the Cunobelin. S.R.200, circa late first
century BC. Old
tickets here. An absolutely outstanding piece of artwork,
in gold, from well before AD43 when the Romans invaded these shores. SOLD
Provenance:
ex D.
Palm collection - his white ticket where he incorrectly attributes this as a
"silver" stater
ex Tim
Owen - early ticket with plain reverse
WAu-9298: Celtic
Britain Gold Stater - Corieltauvi - Kite Type. Early uninscribed full gold
stater, mid to late first century BC.
Obverse: a very crude laureate head, regularly seen on all Corieltauvi types as little more than a plain surface. The reverse depicts a wonderfully stylised
and disjointed Celtic horse, facing left, with a trefoil of pellets before the
hind legs and the trademark kite, containing a quatrefoil of pellets,
above. S.R.392. Formally known as the Coritani, this
tribe occupied Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, up to Yorkshire, down the Leicestershire and even
into Northamptonshire. The South Ferriby type (S.R.390) is the one that
nearly always turns up so this Kite type, although not really being reflected
as such in Sovereign Rarities, is much the rarer variety. Old
tickets here. An absolutely outstanding piece of artwork,
in gold, from well before AD43 when the Romans invaded these shores. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Andy Gillis collection
ex
Mike Vosper
ex
Gentleman Collector - his very old looking ticket which would appear to date
Messrs Gillis & Vosper rather harshly!
WSax-7842: Kings of Northumbria Saxon
Silver Styca or Penny. Eanred, 810-30 (although the reign lasted until AD 841), moneyer Eadwine. Base silver regal issue, phase 1, S.R. 860. A really nice example - the much rarer
earlier silver variety (we are now regularly seeing base Stycas
selling for well in excess of £100) and excellent grade. SOLD
WMH-7479: Stephen Norman Hammered
Silver Halfpenny. Unusual Norman
Hammered Silver Cut Halfpenny of Stephen’s B.M.C.1, "Watford" type, 1136-45, S.R. 1278.
An irregular coin struck using Local Dies with part ornamental / part
retrograde / possibly meaningless legends.
To the best of my ability the legends are: [...]ENSI+EFR+E[...]
and [...]ENR or E? ON G[...]. Taken at face value, the reverse could
indicate ALFWINE (blundered) of Gloucester? Richard
Mooney, a numismatist I hold in high esteem for his knowledge and understanding
of not just Norman coinage but virtually all hammered coinage, has kindly provided the
following: ”The best I can
think of is that the "G" on the reverse might be the beginning of the
Gloucester mint
signature. If this is actually true, a reasonable moneyer could be Alfwine, but then the spelling is blundered, [...]WENE ON G[...]. I saw no names ending
ENE in Martin Allen's 2012 paper on Norman moneyers of type 1
Stephen.” Recorded on the EMC database
as EMC 2023.0066 although as you’ll see if you look this coin up, Martin Allen
is also struggling. Unique? Further research required – something to
definitely get your numismatic teeth into!
SOLD
WMH-9291: Choice Edward III Medieval
Hammered Silver Full Groat. Pre-treaty period, 1351-61.
London
mint, unbroken (new) letters in legend, initial mark 3(4), class G (1356-61),
S.R.1570. Class G usually has an annulet
under the bust and an annulet in one of the four reverse quarters. This coin has no such annulets. Further, there is an unexpected absence of
trefoils in the spandrels cusps on the lower half of the obverse. The interesting und uncommon anomalies aside,
this is an excellent grade coin. SOLD
WMH-9283: Richard
II Hammered Silver Half Groat. Class II with new lettering but no
French title, initial mark Cross Pattée, London mint.
S.R.1682. All
Richard II halfgroats are rare - actually rarer than the groats, and they're
rare enough! - as evidenced by the fact that on all
three old tickets, the description is either Rare or even V. Rare. Lord Stewartby states that 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. With the exception of the halfpenny, the larger
Richard II silver denominations are virtually all flat; lacking any kind of
obverse definition. Although perhaps not
the most pleasing of coins, this is actually a very good example for issue. SOLD
WAu-9194: Celtic Gold Full Stater -
Belgae Cheriton Smiler. The Belgae
of the Solent hinterland, between Bosham Harbour in
the east and the River Avon in the west, and around the valley of the Test or Treget which includes the Danebury
Hill Fort in the north of that region where several of these Belgae staters have been found since the 1980's. These coins were originally thought to be
part of either the Durotriges of Dorset or the Attrebates of North Hampshire tribes but neither of them
used this coinage. The name Belgae was derived from the Roman named Winchester, or Venta
Belgarum, meaning "market place of the Belgae". The
obverse is described as a "Turf Cutter", although "Large
Crescent Face" and "Smiler" are also
used (rotate 180 degrees to see), for obvious reasons. The reverse is an incredibly disjointed horse,
left, with the rarer three horizontal tails (typically it's four or more) with
pellets above, three of which are linked to make a triangle, and an apparent
"eye" or coffee bean next to the tails. There is a crab below the horse's body
(sometimes it's a fish, or shrimp or any of the other marine fauna that were
supposed to represent the diversity of the Solent seaway) on this reverse. Unique or extremely unusual reverse die features
of this coin: the dots between the rear legs of the horse, the triangle
of pellets, the bottom crescent of the horse's body continuing up
the neck (should be the top one only) and then there's
the three necks, including barley-twist, toothed and plain -
usually just a single plain neck. The
front legs are off the coin (was there any way that the full horse, resplendent
with tails, was ever possible on any of these coins?!) but there should at last
be the top pellet showing where the missing legs were attached to the
body. There is not, perhaps indicating
that front legs, if indeed they are legs, were never part of this particular
die? Extra
image here.
ABC 755 var, S.R.24 var,
Van Arsdell (he had the obverse as an abstract head of Apollo but did state of
this type that "Most are in museums") 1215 var. Van Arsdell also goes on to say that the
issue has a ..."high tin percentage suggests melted down cast bronzes were
added to debase the alloy". An
outstanding example of this enigmatic issue (much better gold content than
usually seen, bearing in mind that all are debased) that was held by ancient
Britons who at that point in time had not experienced the Roman invasion and
what that ultimately brought to these shores.
There are many unusual features to keep the researcher in you happy over
the long winter nights to come! SOLD
WI-6934: 1693 William & Mary
Conjoined Busts Copper Halfpenny – High Grade. A Dublin halfpence that was struck for only
three years (the English version was only in operation for one year). S.R. 6597. Made
from the softest of copper (the Charles II copper halfpence issue was equally
soft), ie without the “hardening” elements to the alloy of later years, these
coins were notoriously prone to wear through minimal handling. This one an unrecorded
overdate. Rare. SOLD
WI-7340:
1694 Irish William
& Mary *High Grade* Copper Halfpenny. Struck at Dublin during a short
three year run. Near all the copper issues from Charles II
until the Hanoverians, but particularly so this specific Irish W&M issue,
were struck on planchets made from a very soft copper alloy, one that was
really not up to the job. As a result,
these coins quickly deteriorated through initial circulation. What made the W&M coins in particular so
susceptible to wear was the large relief conjoined busts obverse. I’d almost go as far
to suggest that the W&M Irish halfpence wore down through circulation at a
faster rate than the tin issues, and they really did wear down fast! Sold with an old auction
slip stating “Very Fine”, together with an old cabinet ticket. SOLD
WSax-7843: Kings of Northumbria Saxon
Silver Sceatta or Penny. Eadberht, 737-58. Phase A silver regal issue, class Bi, S.R. 847. A "fantastic" quadruped (currently
thought to be a stylised stag), left. Rare. SOLD
WMH-7613:
Norman ANGEVIN
PARTY Hammered Silver Halfpenny – Henry of Anjou. **A coin of major
historical significance** Struck under the Empress
Matilda’s Angevin Party circa 1142-47 using an
exceptionally well crafted pair of dies: the obverse has Henry of Anjou facing
right; crowned, whilst the reverse is based on the Henry 1st final
type 15 Quadrilateral on Cross Fleury type although the Cross Fleury is more a
Cross Pellet. Obverse: HEN[RICVS], reverse: +RAO[---ON---]IGE. This reverse is the reading taken directly
from the EMC / SCBI entry (EMC 2019.0360) – see here. I would suggest that the mint is, in fact, Gloucester – Mack 247 is a type 3 example of
this coin with a mint signature GLOE and GLO could possibly be this
reading. Recorded mints for Henry of
Anjou, this type, are Hereford, Gloucester, “CRST” and “CAO[--]”. I’m at a loss as to where EMC derives Wallingford
from, other than Wallingford was a beleagured
garrison which sent for Henry, from his home in France, in 1153, a date way in
advance of this coin. If the reader is
interested, all recorded Angevin mints are: Bristol, Gloucester, Sherbourne(?), Hereford, Malmesbury,
and “Uncertain” - Cirencester? The
moneyer on this coin (given by EMC as RADVLF, RAVLF or RAVL) is a previously
unrecorded moneyer; Gloucester Henry of Anjou was only ROBERT prior to this
coin. Mack 248-53,
S.R. 1329, North 940/2. Empress Matilda’s eldest son, Henry of Anjou, Lived in France.
He came to England in 1147, aged 14, and 1149. The former was to do battle at Pevensey (he attacked Cricklade
& Bourton but both were abject failures and to
make a bad day at the office worse, his men deserted him), the latter was to be
knighted by his great uncle, David 1st of Scotland, at Carlisle.
In between times, he was fully occupied in fighting a war against Louis
VII, briefly taking time out to marry Eleanor of Aquitaine, the former wife of
Louis VII. Interesting
times. The chronology of coinage
is as follows: Empress Matilda coinage in hr name, 1139-42. Henry of Anjou very much replaced his mother
on coinage from 1142 with the profile types lasting until the death of Earl
Robert in 1147, after which Henry of Anjou adopted a front facing style to
match the Stephen regular type 2 coinage (voided cross
& stars, 1145-50). Post 1147, the
fortunes of the Angevin Party were at a low ebb and
very little, if any, coinage was issued.
A point of interest on this coin is the unusual placement of the regnal
name, starting about 10 o’clock.
Cut coins were very much done so at the mint, not in the field,
obviously to generate small change where no round fractional coins
existed. This was the case right through
until the practise all but ceased under Edward 1st. It is extremely interesting to note that this
cut half has virtually 100% of the bust of Henry of Anjou remaining. Once the civil war was over and Henry II was
enthroned (Henry II was Henry of Anjou), the mint had little consideration as
to whether the king’s head was or was not on a cut half – indeed it is thought
that of the miniscule quantity of coinage put aside for “cutting” at the mint
post civil war, BOTH sides of individual whole coins were released into
circulation as halfpence. Prior to this,
it was definitely NOT the case – only carefully selected coins, with Henry’s
portrait favouring one side of the coin, were chosen and when cut, the side
without the portrait was immediately put back in the melting pot. This was to ensure that all coinage, even
smaller denominations held by peasants, bore the rightful monarch’s
portrait. It was basically the forerunner
to propaganda and advertising. When you
consider this, these cut halves represent a miniscule fraction of all struck
coinage and then whatever that miniscule percentage was, it was immediately
halved in size by only using one half of every cut coin. An excessively rare and
extraordinarily high grade example.
If this were a full coin, in this grade, it would be somewhat over
£10,000; probably more as it’s an unrecorded moneyer. It is common practice in Scandinavia to charge a straight 50% of the
value of a full coin on all cut half coins, even English coins. Don’t miss out on this one as there will be
no repeat. SOLD
WJC-7655:
James 1st Stuart Hammered
Silver Shilling – High Grade. Third coinage,
initial mark Trefoil, sixth bust, S.R. 2668.
High grade – the best I’ve ever handled – with attractive steel grey
toning. If this were to be slabbed and
put into a decent auction, it would likely fetch much more than the listing
price here. I refer potential buyers to
this March 2023 DNW
auction of S.R. 2668. A very similar coin in every way, apart from the fact that the DNW
coin cost just under £5,000. I
really don’t understand why buyers not only shun websites in favour of auctions
but even more perplexing, seem happy to pay double for the pleasure of using
auctions (in this case, more than double).
If this coin does not sell here, it will likely be consigned to
auction. Choice. SOLD
WMH-8164:
Henry V Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. House of
Lancaster, Durham mint, class C with a mullet and
worn broken annulet by the crown. Most
importantly, the quatrefoil at the end of the legend is very clear. S.R.1782. 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. Much
above average grade for any mint of Henry V penny, but particularly the
northern mints - more so Durham - with local
dies in use. SOLD
WMH-7666:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman PAXS Penny. A desirable early issue, being B.M.C. III – circa 1103 only. +IIHGMII[ND O[N C]AN
– Agmundr of Canterbury.
A very rare type / mint combination, there being only two B.M.C.iii Canterbury pennies listed on the world famous EMC
/ SCBI database, this coin being one of them (EMC 2012.0295), the other being a
totally different moneyer. In effect, a unique coin.
The method pf photography employed greatly enhances any flaws etc. In this case, the flan cracks look
off-putting. I would refer you to the
images on the EMC / SCBI database which literally don’t show them at all. They are not visible to the naked eye. Found Holme-next-the-Sea,
Norfolk, 2012, bought by Tim Owen, bought
by the Causeway Collection. A rare coin indeed. SOLD
WTH-9280:
CHOICE
Edward VI Tudor Hammered Silver PORTRAIT Penny. No initial mark, the rarer Bristol mint (CIVI TAS BRIS TOLIE - the
actual mint being housed at Bristol Castle), first period, in Edward's own
name: April 1547 to January 1549, although this issue was only struck until
February 1548. S.R.
2462. Obverse: crowned bust of
the boy-king Edward VI facing right; reverse: square topped shield over long
cross fourchée.
A billon issue with the Spink XRF spectrometer showing a tad over 0.500 fine. Full flan, well centred, high grade - an absolutely outstanding
example of this great Tudor penny rarity and from the better Bristol mint.
There is a tiny pin prick just past the end of the ascender of 6 -
everything else is just camera reflection or uneven colouring, the latter being
synonymous with all billon coinage. Truly a remarkable coin.
SOLD
Provenance:
ex Stack's, sold to...
ex Richard August collection
ex Spink
WJC-7639:
1648 Charles 1st
Civil War Pontefract Besieged Silver Shilling. Cut from silver plate literally inside Pontefract castle
whilst it was under attack by Cromwell’s forces, June 1649 – March 1649. Issued to pay the garrison defending the
castle, it was made by cutting any available silver bullion and plate. The
inscription 'DVM SPIRO SPERO' translates as “Whilst I breathe, I hope”. Struck the year prior to the
execution of Charles 1st. The rarer of the two varieties with no mark of value – S.R. 3148. Ex Fred Rist,
ex DNW, ex M.H. Coins.
Particularly high grade – these suffered quickly from wear, often being
kept as touch-pieces by local and bereft supporters during the dark days of the
Commonwealth that followed. 5.59 grams,
43mm tip to tip. There is a slight Z
bend to the coin which has resulted in minor wear to those corresponding high
points. Equally as good grade as the
S.R. plate coin, bar the contemporary piercing, but interestingly from a
different obverse die – this coin has obverse pellet stops with no stop after
SPERO. The reverse die is the same. Find another for sale in such high
grade! SOLD
WI-9249:
1555 Irish Mary
and Philip Hammered Silver Shilling.
Facing bust type. 0.250 fine silver so very much billon - it
was at this point in time that large quantities of smaller denomination,
earlier debased coinage (Henry VIII and Edward VI) was shipped over from London
to Ireland to "satisfy the demand [of the Irish] for small
change". S.R.6500. A single date, single issue, large
denomination that was struck specifically for the Irish economy but not really
what was required in terms of everyday run-of-the-mill market commerce. Consequently, a relatively small issue that
was not repeated for the remaining three years of the reign, and due to the
nature of the poor metal content, one that did not survive the rigours of time
and circulation at all well. Some of you
are probably wondering why it's down as Mary & Philip as opposed to the
much more familiar Philip & Mary?
I've never really understood why Philip always came first. Mary was Queen of Spain through marriage, so
by all means have Philip and Mary there but here, Mary
was the Queen through bloodline, after initially being declared illegitimate
and thus barred from the line of succession following the annulment of her
parents' marriage in 1533. Thankfully
for Mary (and Philip), the line of succession was restored via the Third Succession
Act, 1543. She was Queen of England for
a year before her marriage to Philip so patriarchy aside, it's Mary &
Philip, at least on this site! William
& Mary, 130 odd years later, is debate for another time! This coin is arguably better overall than the
Sovereign Rarity 2026 plate coin - the very best coin available to them from
all the collections and databases that they have access to. Rare thus. I have certainly never seen better. SOLD
Provenance:
Old, unidentified ticket
ex Tim Owen
WI-9273: Irish
Edward IV Rare Medieval Hammered Silver Groat. Second reign, type VIII - issues of the
Ungoverned Mint, 1470-77. CIVITAS
LIMIRICI - Limerick mint. L on breast, rosettes by the neck (and in two
reverse quarters and interspersed within the legends) and with English &
French titles - S.R.6380A. Coins were
issued outside of the governance of the Pale authorities by just three mints: Limerick, Cork and Wexford, with the first of
those two mints issuing coin autonomously as a result of the Desmond rebellion
by those respective Irish towns. Wexford
was not involved in this rebellion but opportunistically joined in minting their own coinage anyway.
Weight at 2.03g which, bearing in mind the standard weight was around 2g
at the time due to the weight being reduced from that of the previous issue by
25% (these were in reality unofficial issues so it's entirely to be expected
that they would make money this way - indeed, I'm surprised they stuck at 25%),
tells us that this coin was probably struck on the usual short flan and is not
far off what it would have looked like when it left the mint. For issue, and bearing in mind it's not a
clipped coin, overall I'd readily grade this coin as VF (2025 price guide
£1,200) - it is as good, if not slightly better than the S.R. plate coin. A rare find. SOLD
Provenance:
ex
Steve Mitchell, Studio Coins, 1991 (original ticket)
ex
Spink
WJC-9261: 1646 Charles 1st NEWARK
Besieged Hammered Silver Shilling. Emergency coinage whilst
supporters and troops of Charles 1st were besieged in Newark in
1646. The desirable later year of 1646 with Newark
spelt correctly. S.R.3143. 1646 was within the third
siege of Newark during the Civil
War. It was the actual town of Newark that was
besieged, not just the castle, although then and now, the castle lies in the
heart of the town. On 26
November 1645, Scottish and Parliamentarian troops launched a twin attack
on Newark. The Scots
besieged Newark from the north;
Parliamentarian forces besieged from the south. The garrison refused to
capitulate and aggressively defended the town. During the harsh winter, the
Scots built up siege works which were manned by 16,000 men. They also tried to
dam the River Deven (a
tributary of the famous River Trent which literally laps up the side of the
present day castle walls) to starve the town’s grain mills power. Despite this
sustained attack, Newark held
out. Townspeople who survived later recounted that they were forced
to eat horses and dogs because food was so scarce. The town was blighted by the
plague. These silver Newark siege pieces -
sixpences, shillings, ninepences and
halfcrowns - were emergency money; literally cut from the silver pate at Newark Castle and then stamped
with the dies. Circular coins would have been difficult to hand cut,
hence the diamond shape. Examples with original underlying designs /
gold gilding from the silver plates have been recorded. The town
only surrendered at the order of Charles 1st, who was himself forced to order
the surrender as part of the conditions for his own capitulation. Newark finally surrendered
on 8 May 1646, thus this later date
coin was clearly only struck for four months. It is interesting to
note that soldiers from the Newark garrison fought
at the famous battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644). Remarkably well centred for this
issue, both obverse and reverse (this was a rushed, emergency issue which
resulted in the majority of coins being regularly off-struck) with an
interesting "wobble" on both the obverse right diagonals where the
person in charge of cutting up the silver plate presumably utilised a vaguely
straight edge to save himself at least one cut and then for whatever reason,
had to cut very slowly on the adjacent diagonal. The Brooker
collection contained only one example dated 1646 - a smaller but thicker flan,
pierced & plugged. Newark siege pieces are
increasingly rare and as collectors will be aware, when they do turn up, the
vast majority are pierced (siege pieces were often kept as touch-pieces to be
worn around the necks of loyal supporters), damaged, worn, etc. A rare
coin. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen
Old unidentified
ticket
WSC-9045:
1565 Mary and Henry
Darnley Scottish Hammered Silver Two Thirds Ryal. Fourth period, circulated at 20
shillings. Edinburgh mint. Obv: +MARIA & HENRIC DEI GRA R & R
SCOTORV and totally different to the 1565 first issue Ryal,
no images of either Mary or Henry. S.R. 5426. Mary became queen at only seven days
old. She married Lord Henry Darnley
(second marriage) in 1565 - this coin very much from that union period. Darnley was killed in an explosion in 1567,
thereby bringing this date run to an abrupt end. It is interesting to note that this reverse
die was struck 156- in order to insert the appropriate final digit as and
when. Unusual to find this denomination
NOT counterstamped under Mary's son (Darnley was officially the father), the
future James VI of Scotland and James 1st of England. Scottish circulation was much more intense than
south of the border due to lack of sufficient coinage physically in
circulation, so that, coupled with the inadequate and shallow-sunk dies, led to
very, very few coins of this type or similar ending up in anywhere near VF
today. SOLD
WMH-7446: Stephen NORMAN Hammered
Silver CROSS & PILES Penny. B.M.C. VI, 1150-54: (+)GERFREI ON
(TEF) – Geffrei of Thetford. S.R. 1281. There are only six recorded examples of Thetford mint B.M.C VI coins on the EMC database with only
two for this moneyer, one of which is a cut half of questionable
attribution. Sold with
a variety of old tickets etc - ex W.J. Lawson collection (sold by Spink Aus in
1989). Toned,
virtually VF and just a lovely coin.
SOLD
WMH-9258: Extremely
Rare and Finest Known Henry IV Hammered Silver HALFGROAT. Choice. Light Coinage of
1412 - 1413 only, London mint.
An annulet to the left of the crown, a pellet to the
right. S.R.1730, this being dies
sunk under Henry IV as opposed to altered Richard II dies (S.R.1729). Nine arcs in the tressure indicating the
later of the two obverse dies for this Stewartby
class P with annulet/pellet arrangement.
Lord Stewartby (English Coins, 1180-1551)
states: "The halfgroats and London pence of later class P are of
considerable rarity." Further confirmation
of this being a later die: the m of Adiutorem
is dropped. The previous owner reported
that Dave Greenhalgh stated only x20 Light Coinage
halfgroats are extant (both altered R.II and H.IV types) and that this example
is the finest known of that cohort.
There are more groats extant than halfgroats. Readers may be questioning why a Light
Coinage coin, ie very much towards the end of Henry IV's reign, would be
derived from the previous reign's "left-over" dies - the assumption
being that the earlier H.IV Heavy Coinage (1399 - 1412) would have utilised
those? That was indeed the case - there
is even an example of a H.IV Heavy Coinage muled with
an Ed.III obverse although bizarrely, the portrait on
that Ed.III halfgroat was actually R.II! - but so few
H.IV halfgroats were struck in the Heavy Coinage that those old dies were still
serviceable when the Light Coinage of 1412 - 1413 came along. Even within this period, with the Burgundian Alliance reinstating wool exports (a main
industry in the day), together with the silver reduction in coinage, the output
of all H.IV coinage was miniscule, with the halfgroat being much rarer
still. With a degree of difficulty, and
some expense, you may be able to obtain H.IV pennies (nearly always extremely
worn). Halfpennies are slightly easier
and usually in better grade. Groats are
extremely difficult to source. However,
of all the silver issues, it is the halfgroats that pose by far the greatest
challenge. Coincraft, who I have a lot
of time for, state: "Henry IV halfgroats are extremely rare in any
grade and collectors may have difficulty obtaining an example, regardless of
condition." Ask any
numismatist who the rarest medieval monarchs are in terms of obtaining a coin
from that reign and they'll quickly give you Henry IV and Richard III. Ask the which everyday denomination of those
two monarchs are the hardest and they'll be just as quick to tell you that it's
halfgroat for both. Incidentally,
Sovereign Rarities 2026 Coins of England do have a R.III halfgroat as a plate
coin but were unable to locate an example to illustrate for either the H.IV
Heavy or Light coinages! Here we have
not just one of the rarest British monarchs, but the rarest denomination and
the very best grade example known, and don't forget that's all extant examples:
institutional collections and private collections. And as if that wasn't enough, the provenance
(see old tickets here)
is also impressive. Choice
on several levels. SOLD
Provenance:
ex D. Mangakis collection
ex Raymond Carlyon-Britton
collection (his tickets, December 1958, £45)
ex Spink
Old ticket (unidentified)
states: "Acquired from Spink March 1970"
ex Spink (1984)
ex unknown collection, dispersed...
Numismatica Ars (Zurich), Auction 145, May 2024, lot 1180, £4,500 after
commissions but before import duties
WJC-9184: 1625 Charles 1st Silver
Pattern Halfcrown - reportedly one of only four known. Engraved by either Thomas Rawlins or, more
likely, 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 as 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
also this:
Abraham
Van der Doort and the 1625
Charles I Pattern Half-crown
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.
Another example of the Abraham
Van der Doort pattern
halfcrown sold in 2024 for £1500 + buyer's commissions on top. Here, there is no such buyer's commission and
you probably won't even have to pay the full asking price either! An extremely rare and important coin from this most interesting, not
to mention vast area of numismatics. SOLD
Provenance:
ex
John Williams collection
ex HistoryInCoins (2024)
WJC-7961:
1625 Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial
mark Lis, Tower mint under the king, Gp.
A, first bust, type 1: small bust with double arched crown. S.R. 2805. Issued right at the very
start of the reign, so much so that the king is literally depicted in his
coronation robes on this coin.
These early dated sixpences are all fairly rare, although 1625 is not
the rarest date. What elevates this coin
is the grade. Collectors will be aware
that nearly all dated Charles 1st sixpences turn up worn or damaged. This one is exceptional for issue. SOLD
WMH-7269:
Henry V
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Class F, York mint, S.R.1788.
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. Generally a poor
issue with little effort put into the dies or indeed the end product. This coin is much above average for
issue. SOLD
WTH-8023: Edward VI Fine Silver
Issue Hammered Shilling. Initial mark Tun, third period, fine
silver issue of 1551-3, London mint, S.R. 2482. Lost very soon after it was issued from the
mint but lost to the plough soil so although VF, which is actually rare to see
in these shillings, there are associated surface marks. SOLD
WSC-8124:
Robert III
Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.
Heavy coinage, Edinburgh mint.
First issue with obverse colon stops and reverse
saltire "colon-esque" legend terminals. Seven arcs to tressure. The facing bust is not typical of this issue,
being anything but tall. S.R. 5164. John, Earl of Carrick, eldest son of Robert
II, changed his name to Robert on succeeding to the throne. Being almost entirely disabled by an accident
before his father's death, the country was effectively run by yet another
Robert - Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the king's younger brother. Just as in England, there was a severe shortage of
silver being brought to the mint. SOLD
WI-9149:
Irish Henry VII Late
Three Crowns Hammered Silver HALF Groat.
Issue of 1488-90 with mint name: CIV[I TA]S DVB
LIN - Dublin and large annulet stops throughout
with a trefoil of annulets (sometimes referred to as annulet crosses) obverse
and reverse at 12 o'clock. S.R.6444. Full groats are
fairly rare and usually turn up with very little, if any legends. Even these indifferent Three Crown full
groats are now achieving impressive prices.
To get a full groat with legends is challenging and the price obviously
rises exponentially, as it does with nearly every coin when you're chasing
grade. Nicely toned with as full legends
as you're ever likely to see (these were not only clipped but often struck on
small flans - you have neither of that with this coin). To find both a HALF groat, and one in
such good grade, is extremely rare.
SOLD
WRS-9086:
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 Mediterranean 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 of circulation,
but more than that, true history in a coin!
SOLD
Provenance:
ex Helmingham Hoard of 2019
WAu-9241:
1654/0
Commonwealth Hammered Gold Crown. Initial mark Sun, S.R. 3212.
Generally, larger denominations such as this never really made it out of
London into the shires; gold coins especially so - silver crown and all gold
Commonwealth coinage was predominantly NOT in general circulation, rather being
held as collateral in banks (although the Commonwealth period at this point
were so bereft of money that there was very little, if any reserve in the
vaults), or for use by the government or merchants, which is why Commonwealth
crowns and greater did find their way over to the Continent. A coin falling within the Protectorship period (1653-59) under Oliver Cromwell. The date is a clear overdate of 1654 over
1650, meaning the dies were originally sunk for the enigmatic 1650 coinage, of
which there was zero silver and one of the lowest quantities of gold (all three
denominations combined in total) compared to all the Commonwealth years - even
the exceptionally rare year of 1657 struck more gold than 1650. Thus it is not surprising to see that
literally every 1654 gold crown, without exception, derives from the recycled
1650 die because it got but the briefest of outings in 1650. Interestingly, 1654, this coin, was the
penultimate gold crown issued under the Commonwealth, the final being a
1658. So little gold
coinage was able to be struck because the bullion just wasn't available. The gold coinage, unlike the later silver
coinage, had to be maintained at exactly the correct fineness because it was
this coinage, along with the silver crown, that as has been already pointed out
above, was used for overseas trade. The
gold coinage of 1654, that's all three denominations combined in total (crown,
double crown & unite) is roughly equivalent to the total output of exceedingly rare
1649 silver crowns (Spink auctioned one of the two varieties off a few years
back with a hammer price of £40,000+ before commission). There was perhaps slightly more combined gold
struck but if you break down the gold and just look at gold crowns, 1654 gold
crowns will have been struck in much less quantity than the 1649 silver
crowns. In terms of extant silver 1649
crowns, there are less than 20 known, both in private and public collections,
and it's almost certainly closer to 15. A very rare and interesting coin. SOLD
WSC-9187: 1547 Mary Queen of Scots
Hammered Billon Silver PORTRAIT Penny.
First period, 1542-58, before marriage although this coin represents the
very first portrait issue of Mary - she was just 5 years old in 1547, so a long
time before the first marriage. Facing infant head of the very young Mary with an arched crown. The reverse is a cross fourchee
with cinquefoils and crowns in alternate angles. Edinburgh
mint. Burns 3 (fig 864), SCBI 71
(Stewartby), S.R. 5440. Very few coins in the reign of this
iconic monarch had a portrait of the queen so if you collect by portrait, this
is for you. Old
tickets here. An exceedingly rare coin,
it being the second only that I've handled in many a decade. SOLD
Provenance:
ex DNW
2009, sold to
ex
Raymond collection
WJC-9247:
1645 Charles
1st NEWARKE BESIEGED Hammered Silver Shilling. Emergency coinage whilst supporters and
troops of Charles 1st were besieged in Newark between 1645 and 1646. The rarer crude, fat-topped
crown variety; S.R.3142. 1645 was
within the third siege of Newark during the Civil War. It was the actual town of Newark that was besieged, not just the
castle, although then and now, the castle lies in the heart of the town. On 26 November 1645, Scottish and Parliamentarian
troops launched a twin attack on Newark. The Scots besieged Newark from the north; Parliamentarian
forces besieged from the south. The garrison refused to capitulate and
aggressively defended the town. During the harsh winter, the Scots built up
siege works which were manned by 16,000 men. They also tried to dam the River Deven (a tributary of the famous River Trent which
literally laps up the side of the present day castle walls) to starve the
town’s grain mills power. Despite this sustained attack, Newark held out. Townspeople who survived later recounted that
they were forced to eat horses and dogs because food was so scarce. The town
was blighted by the plague. These silver Newark siege pieces - sixpences,
shillings, ninepences and halfcrowns - were emergency
money; literally cut from the silver pate at Newark Castle and then stamped with the
dies. Circular coins would have been
difficult to cut, hence the diamond shape.
Examples with original underlying designs from the silver plates have
been recorded. The town only surrendered
at the order of Charles 1st, who was himself forced to order the surrender as
part of the conditions for his own surrender. The town finally surrendered on 8
May 1646. It is interesting to note that soldiers from
the Newark garrison fought at the famous
battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644).
This coin, a twelve-penny shilling, needed to be 6g as that was its
intended buying power - literally x12 pennies worth of silver (the good old
days when the coin in your hand wasn't just a worthless lump of base metal with
an attached bank promise of value, rather the coin in your hand was literally
worth what the coin said it was worth in metal, be that copper, silver or
gold). In size alone this was a very
generous blank that the moneyer initially cut out for a shilling (presumably
larger in size because the silver plate being cut up at the time was a thinner
plate?); one that clearly came out at more than the stipulated 6g because
either the moneyer himself, or someone further up the food chain, cut off and
rounded the four corners in an attempt to reduce the weight. At still over 6g, even with circulation and
the passage of time, that effort was only partially successful. This is something you rarely see - in fact, I've never witnessed it before. The Brooker collection contained only one
example of this rarer die variety but looking at all the Brooker Newark
denominations, and indeed his Pontefracts, none had
their corners removed in this way to reduce weight. A rare coin in its own
right. SOLD
Provenance:
ex Oriole collection of gold and silver English coins
Dispersed by Spink 2025
WTH-9250:
Choice
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Penny.
Second coinage, 1st December 1560 to 24th October 1561 only.
Initial mark Martlet, S.R.2558. The end of September 1560 witnessed the
government recalling all older coinage and literally demonetising it. The old debased coinage was circulating
freely at less than face value, eg earlier English
base issue halfgroats were, pre September 1560, circulating at three farthings
and debased Irish issues circulating at 25% face value in London.
Incidentally, a lot of this debased coinage was sent to Ireland where is was
gratefully received. The English public
was confused and so action was taken in the form of a brand new mint, working
alongside the old one, issuing coinage at .925 fine. The original mint was the Nether Mint
(situated on the west side of the Tower of London by the main entrance); the
new one, again situated within the Tower of London but between the walls of the
east side, was called the Upper
Houses. This new Upper Houses
mint, for this second coinage, struck coinage only using the privy mark
Martlet, meaning that the coin on offer here originated out of the new, Upper
Houses mint. An
exceptionally good, choice coin.
Find better! SOLD
Provenance:
ex Tim Owen (his original ticket)
