Ancient Gold Coins
-------->Remember, postage is included<--------
Scottish & English Hammered and Milled Gold Coins:
Please note that Lay-Away is no
longer available on any gold coinage unless by
prior arrangement.
WAu-7760:
Alexander III
Ancient Greek Macedonian Kingdom Gold Stater. Head of Athena, not Alexander III which seems
to be a common misrepresentation, wearing a Corinthian helmet; Nike on the
reverse. 8.35g. Many staters from this period are not
Alexander but earlier examples struck under Philip. A really good Alexander III gold stater will
cost you upwards of £5,000 today and if you’ve read the bit above about
Lay-Away, that price will be more as time goes on! Alexander III began his “career” as King of
Macedon but literally only spent the first two years of his reign in his native
kingdom, being busy elsewhere building a vast empire stretching from Greece to
India. He died at just 33. A rare opportunity to not just own a piece of
history but an opportunity to own it in solid gold and at a fraction of the
usual price. Ex Bruun Rasmusson, ex Dr
Daniel Offer, ex Spink. £1,650 RESERVED (S.H.10-7-23)
WAu-7811:
Choice Celtic
Gold Stater – Cunobelin, AD 10-43.
Linear type: Running / rearing horse of good likeness facing right with
CVN below; ear of corn separating CA & MV.
The unified territories of Trinovantes and Catuvellauni – present day Colchester.
A really sought-after type, being one of the most attractive and easily
recognisable designs, both obverse and reverse, of all Celtic gold coins. Incidentally, the obverse and reverse dies on
this coin (G/h) are completely unrecorded so this coin is unique. Many of you will have noticed the
significance of the date of this coin: AD 43 was when the Romans arrived on our
shores properly, as opposed to the “trial run” some hundred years prior. The cessation of coinage from this tribe, in
this form, was because Cunobelin died in AD 43.
It is postulated that his death was one of the main contributing factors
a propos the timing of the Roman invasion under Claudius. We’re all sometimes perhaps a little blasé
about the coinage we handle - it really must not be forgotten that this little
lump of just over 5 grams of gold is over 2,000 years old. It was made and used by a people who were
living and working here in England before the Romans arrived
with their new, civilised ways that, let’s face it, has formed the foundation
of the way we live today. When this coin
was being held in the hand by an ancient Celt, there were no roads, no under
floor heating, no elaborate governmental hierarchy; just hill forts, farming,
wode-painted faces and lime-hair when going into battle, etc, etc. But then just look at the artistry in this
coin – objectively, would you expect work of this sophistication, based on our
understanding of pre-Roman culture? ABC
(an excellent Celtic coin reference book) 2774, Van Arsdel (a good Celtic coin
reference book) 1925-5, Spink (they have some Celtic coins in there) 281. Well centred, which is a most desirable
trait, and nEF grade. I think the weekly
struck observation on the ticket is to a large part unfair and
unwarranted. A very attractive and
equally desirable coin. £1,850 RESERVED (J.K.10-7-23)
WAu-7761:
Roman Gold
Flavian Dynasty Stater – Titus as Caesar.
Titus (full name Titus Flavius Vespasianus) as Caesar was a somewhat
junior rank as he had not at this point become emperor. This coin was issued under the earlier reign
of his father, Vespasian. Titus
succeeded to the imperial throne upon the death of Vespasian on June
24th, AD 79. He only reigned
for two years and during this brief period, he ruled over a series of huge
natural disasters, perhaps the best known being the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Rome, AD 74. T•CAESAR•IMP•VESP, laureate head of Titus right /
PONTIF-TR POT, Fortuna standing left on garlanded cippus, grounded rudder in
right hand, cornucopia cradled in left arm. Calicó 751. RIC II (Vespasian) 696. 7.00g. Ex Dr Daniel Offer collection, ex Spink. £2,450 RESERVED (S.H.10-7-23)
WAu-7762:
**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 of 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.
£3,150 RESERVED
WAu-7845: Early Anglo-Saxon English
Crondall Gold Thrysma or Shilling.
Witman type with obverse bust right, a trident in front. Circa 620-45.
The reverse has a blundered legend surrounding a crude cross with what
is a very different 4th terminal to what we'd normally expect to see on this
type. Sutherland type IV.1, Spink
753. Of excellent gold content - it was
from this point onwards that the metal used for Saxon coinage was increasingly
and progressively "watered down" with silver (the post Crondall and European
types have that insipid gold colour about them) until by circa AD 660's, they
were all entirely silver in metal content.
Recorded on the E.M.C. database (2022-0426). 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. Of the 73 Thrysmas, x4 in the hoard had the
same obverse die as the coin listed here.
All Crondall "Native Anglo-Saxon" type Thrysmas as rare - even
the late "two emperors" type, which is invariably the one to turn up,
is rare as very few gold Saxon coins were minted and hardly any survived - it
would only be through hoards or casual field losses. An extremely important and significant Anglo-Saxon
gold coin. £5,495 RESERVED
WAu-7812:
Edward III
Medieval Hammered Gold Full Noble.
Fourth coinage, post-treaty period of 1369-77, group III. Spink 1521, North 1281, Schneider 115. Calais mint. 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 was opened in 1363 as a
direct result of the treaty between France and England and meant the mintage of coinage
for England could be outsourced to Calais to aid in the newly formed
cross-channel trading routes. The
relationship between the two countries has perhaps always been a tad strained -
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. Rusty
obverse dies – perhaps a result of French sea air?! Ex Malthouse collection; also accompanied by
a much earlier, unidentified ticket.
£5,450
WAu-7763:
Robert III
Medieval Hammered Gold Demy-Lion. Heavy coinage, 1390-1403, second issue. 1.77g. Circulated at 2s, 6d. Shield in tressure / long saltire cross with
lis. Spink 5158. Ex Mark Rasmusson. £3,995
WAu-7694:
Henry VI
Hammered Gold First Reign Noble.
Annulet issue of 1422-30. Initial
mark Lis, London mint, annulet by sword arm and in
one reverse spandrel (1 0’clock). Spink
1799. 6.87 grams, 4h, 34mm
diameter. Attractively toned, GVF grade. Sold with a couple of old tickets, one being Baldwin’s – see here. A handsome and desirable coin. £5,585
WAu-7555:
Edward IV
Hammered Medieval Gold Ryal or Rose Noble.
Light Coinage of 1464 – 1470 only, London mint, small fleurs in spandrels,
initial mark Crown, Spink 1951. This
coin, issued in 1465, whilst unambiguously attractive in design, was a bit of a
disaster. It superseded the old Noble
because this was now considered a clunky and old fashioned denomination at 6s.
8d. The new Ryal or Rose Noble
denomination was nice and user-friendly at 10 shillings. However, it wasn’t. The noble had been around for so long that
6s. 8d. had actually become the professionals’ standard fee. Whilst these professionals wouldn’t have
minded being the beneficiary of a not inconsequential pay rise virtually
overnight, the people who employed these individuals were most certainly not up
for that. Thus the new 10 shilling Ryal
or Rose Noble denomination was itself superseded just 5 years later by the gold
Angel and everyone was happy because the Angel circulated at, wait for it,
exactly the same as the old Noble - 6s. 8d, or at least it did until Henry VIII
got involved when, somewhat counter-intuitively, it increased to 7s. 6d in his
Second Coinage! At virtually full weight
and VF grade, this is a lovely example of an iconic English late Medieval
hammered gold coin. £6,850
WAu-7311:
Henry VIII
Hammered Gold Crown of the Double Rose.
Third coinage, initial mark none / WS monogram, 1544-47, Bristol mint. Spink 2310.
Ex Spink (various
tickets here). Slightly wavy flan
with minor edge splits. A very popular
coin and invariably a minimum of £5K in today’s market. This one priced very competitively at £4,295
WAu-7813:
James 1st
Stuart Hammered Gold Full Angel.
Second coinage, initial mark Tower: 1612-13. Spink 2616, North 2081, Schneider –. Pierced for use as a touch-piece. This is an historically significant and
important coin: it was literally touched by King James 1st before being
presented to a sufferer of Scrofula (modern name TB). Just to reiterate, this coin is guaranteed to
have been touched by King James 1st (as well as someone presumed
dying with TB!) This happened at an
official Touching Ceremony organised by the palace. The origins of “Touching” go back to Henry
II; the idea being that only God can cure this incurable disease and as the
monarch had direct contact with God, the monarch touching the sufferer was the
same as God touching. The gold coin,
touched by the king (and thus God himself) was to go around the neck of the
sufferer and be always in contact with the skin. Some years before James 1st, Mary
took this very seriously indeed. She
literally pressed the sufferer’s open sores with her own two hands and later in
the ceremony, she touched the same places with the gold coin whilst making the
sign of the cross. She then personally
threaded a ribbon through the coin and placed it around the neck of the
unfortunate individual. James 1st
held his first Touching Ceremony on October 1603. It has to be said that he was extremely
reluctant, partly for religious reasons (he refused point blank to make the
sign of the cross) but mainly because he really couldn’t face being around
“these superstitious, afflicted people”.
However, much as he was reluctant to even be there, he was even more unwilling
to break with Royal tradition so the Touching Ceremonies continued. See here for some
excellent research on a Charles 1st touch-piece – a coin less
frequently encountered, in my opinion, than the James 1st
touch-piece. Incidentally, I remember
than coin selling for not just more than I was willing to pay but significantly
more than I thought even a collector would be willing to pay! This coin ex Peter Mitchell of Baldwin’s (old ticket in his hand). Richly toned, good VF and very rare. £3,850
WAu-7814:
1653 Commonwealth
Hammered Gold Unite. Initial mark
Sun (for Oliver, not Richard Cromwell), Spink 3208, North 2715, Schneider
341. Charles 1st was convicted of
treason and executed on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.
With that, therein ended the monarchy, albeit at least for the next few
years, and the Commonwealth began. There
is great significance in this coin’s date: in 1653, after dissolution of the
Rump Parliament, the Army Council adopted the Instrument of Government which
made Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of a united "Commonwealth of England,
Scotland and Ireland", inaugurating the period now usually known as the
Protectorate. It should be noted that
throughout this non-reign, funds were tight thus coinage issued was only a
fraction of what it was during earlier periods.
This can be evidenced by significant spikes in production when ships
containing bullion were seized by the British.
Another illustration, through examination of coin hoards, is that
Commonwealth silver and gold, particularly sixpences and over, was
predominantly London-centric with the “Shires” having to make do with old Charles
1st, James 1st, Elizabeth 1st and sometimes
even earlier coinage. Now the clear and
obvious thing for any new regime to do, especially a conquering one such as the
conquerors of Charles 1st, would be to hoover-up as much of the old coinage as
possible, melt it down and then re-issue it to the entire country, with the new
regime’s details all over the new coinage, as virtually the only way possible
to get the message out to the entire country that the Commonwealth was upon
them. This clearly did not happen and
the reason was simply lack of funds, coupled, perhaps, with a naive belief that
only the wealth-making centre of London really mattered. Not only was Commonwealth coinage extremely
sparse, but gold coinage accounted for but a fraction of the total combined
coinage issued. For 1653, ALL gold metal
(ie crowns, double crowns, and unites) processed for coinage was approximately
3% of the total available compared with 97% silver. Rarely offered for sale. £4,995
WAu-7816:
1673 Charles II
Restoration Period Milled Full Gold Guinea.
Fourth laureate bust with the rounded truncation. John & Joseph Roettier dies with
Blondeau’s machinery – the milling on the edge of the coin was a safeguard
against clipping which had been not just a thorn in the side of every hammered
period, but rather a stake. The practise
of clipping officially ended here after several hundred years. The Guinea was so named because some of the
gold bullion used came from the country of Guinea, via the Africa Company. It was a 20 shilling denomination, directly
replacing the short-lived 1662 gold Broad of 20 shillings. The racehorse aficionados among you are
probably crying out “21 shillings, 21 shillings!” but revaluation of a guinea
to that amount took place in 1717 under George 1st. Incidentally, there were times prior to 1717
where the actual value of a guinea (and remember, the value of any coin,
guineas very much included, was entirely based on the precious metal content)
was even higher than 21 shillings due to market fluctuations in the value, or
spot price of gold. Spink 3344. No mount marks. £2,775
WAu-7817:
1701 William III
Milled Full Gold Guinea. Second
laureate bust with a proliferation of hair.
The milling on the edge of the coin was a safeguard against clipping
which had been not just a thorn in the side of every hammered period, but
rather a stake. The practise of clipping
officially ended with the introduction of milled coinage in 1662. The Guinea was so named because some of the
gold bullion used came from the country of Guinea, via the Africa Company. It was a 20 shilling denomination, directly
replacing the short-lived 1662 gold Broad of 20 shillings of the earlier
Charles II. The racehorse aficionados
among you are probably crying out “21 shillings, 21 shillings!” but revaluation
of a guinea to that amount took place in 1717 under George 1st. Incidentally, there were times prior to 1717
where the actual value of a guinea (and remember, the value of any coin,
guineas very much included, was entirely based on the precious metal content)
was even higher than 21 shillings due to market fluctuations in the value, or
spot price of gold. Spink 3463. Ex Morton & Eden (their ticket sold with
this coin) for £2,000 hammer (£2,600 after commissions) in 2022, ex Spink. No mount marks and really, a very nice grade
example for a William III guinea. £2,975
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.
£2,395 RESERVED (M.He.23-5-23)
WAu-7818:
1714 Queen Anne
Milled Full Gold Guinea. Post
Scottish union, third draped bust. The
milling on the edge of the coin was a safeguard against clipping which had been
not just a thorn in the side of every hammered period, but rather a stake. The practise of clipping officially ended
with the introduction of milled coinage in 1662. The Guinea was so named because some of the
gold bullion used came from the country of Guinea, via the Africa Company. It was a 20 shilling denomination, directly
replacing the short-lived 1662 gold Broad of 20 shillings of the earlier
Charles II. The racehorse aficionados
among you are probably crying out “21 shillings, 21 shillings!” but revaluation
of a guinea to that amount took place in 1717 under George 1st. Incidentally, there were times prior to 1717
where the actual value of a guinea (and remember, the value of any coin,
guineas very much included, was entirely based on the precious metal content)
was even higher than 21 shillings due to market fluctuations in the value, or
spot price of gold. 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. Spink 3574. Ex Spink with associated
Spink tickets. Interestingly, Spink
now appear to use the Ellerby
Hoard as a classification guide – their classification is “Ellerby
181-190”, meaning lots 181 through to 190 in the Ellerby Hoard sale that they
conducted were all 1714 Queen Anne Guineas.
For context, the Ellerby Hoard is a hoard of 266 17th-18th century hammered
and milled gold coins found in a manganese-mottled salt-glazed stoneware vessel
in the garden of a house in Ellerby, East Riding of Yorkshire in 2019. Hoard estimate £200,000; hammer
£750,000. As this guinea is ex Spink
(but not ex Ellerby), I think it only fair to compare. The Ellerby coin that I’ve attached here,
lot 187, is clearly not quite as good grade as the one on offer on this
website. Never-the-less, both attracted
a Spink grade of “pleasing VF” (NGC got a little carried away and graded it
About Uncirculated!) The Ellerby coin
sold for £4,000 after commissions, and that was several years ago with the
market ever moving upwards. Obviously
there’s a small premium for provenance to consider as it was very good
provenance. This coin: no mount marks,
some lustre, well struck up. £3,275
