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-7993: Extremely Rare Celtic
Gold Full Stater. Gallic War
issue - Ambiani - imported from Gaul
or specifically, the modern day Rouen area of France, circa 60-50 BC.
A seemingly common enough Ambiani stater from the Gallic War period with
the disjoined or sinuous horse, right, and a blank obverse. However, the double "S" below the
horse and either side of the pellet render this coin excessively rare. Ancient British Coins (ABC) by Chris Rudd,
the go-to reference for Celtic coins since 2010, taking over from Van Arsdell,
has no recorded examples. Ambiani is ABC
16, with nothing either side of the pellet.
He lists an Atrebates stater (ABC 19) as having a single S below the
horse but the coin for sale here is NOT Atrebates (the Atrebates were separated
from the Ambiani by the Canche river) as they have a letter A on the
obverse. Spink lump the Gallic War
issues together and put forward Spink 13 - a stater with a single S on the
reverse, but this turns out to be Atrebates and references back to ABC 19 - but
again, even if this was the correct attribution, and it isn't, it's just a
single S whereas this coin has a double reversed S. Interestingly, the double reverse
"SS" symbols appear on slightly later staters and quarter staters
from the North Thames region, ABC 2237 and 2243-49 (these are the only
marks on an otherwise plain reverse, unlike the symbols on this coin) and are
thought to represent lightning flashes rather than letters. So, a very common tribe (although interestingly,
Ambiani staters now seem to be more expensive than Coritani staters, which
certainly wasn't the case a decade ago) but an excessively rare variant that is
to my knowledge unrecorded and / or unpublished. Quite a find!
5.85g (see image here). From an old Northern 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. £1,895
WAu-7994: Celtic Gold Spiral Type
Full Stater. Trinovantes &
Catuvellauni - Addedomaros, circa 50 BC to 1 AD. Originally located north of the Thames
area, central to the east coast. A
spiral wreath of x6 arms extending outwards from three back-to-back crescents
at the centre. The reverse horse is
facing right with a ring pellet either side and a cornucopia below. Spink 210, ABC 2517 - Ancient British Coins
by Chris Rudd, the go-to reference for Celtic coins since 2010, taking over
from Van Arsdell. Not a rare coin but
rare in this grade - it's generally not a well defined issue but this coin is a
strong example with little wear. Toned
and lustrous. Excellent provenance. £975 RESERVED J.K.
Found Wing,
Buckinghamshire
Ex T. Matthews (1999)
Ex Haddenham collection
Ex Spink
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. £670
Ex J.Follws collection
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for
£500 back in the day)
Ex Northern collection
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. £885
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for
£650 back in the day)
Ex Northern collection
WAu-8089: 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. This is an extremely important and
significant Anglo-Saxon gold coin.
£5,695
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. £3,250
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-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-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.
£1,850 RESERVED (M.He.21-12-23)
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-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. £4,850
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
