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to my knowledge unrecorded and / or unpublished.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-7995: 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 common enough Ambiani stater from the Gallic War period with the
disjoined or sinuous horse, right, and a blank obverse. Ambiani staters were very common a decade or
so ago on the back of a couple of large hoards that came up. However, all those coins are now dispersed
into institutions or collections and the price has risen rather impressively,
to the point where they are now more expensive than Coritani staters. Spink 11, ABC 16 - 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. £770
Found Herts, 1990's
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for
£550 back in the day)
Ex Northern collection
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-7997: Rare Celtic Tincomarus
Spiral Type Quarter Stater. Regini
& Atrebates (south of the River Thames), Tincommius (now thought to be
Tincomarus based on the 1996 Alton Hoard), circa 25 BC to AD 10. Termed the Tincomarus Spiral, although it's
actually a circular wreath giving the impression of a spiral. Pellet at the centre. The reverse depicts a horse galloping to the
right with a "T" sloping to the left above the horse. The apparent letter "C" below the
horse is a rear horses leg in full gallop.
Spink 73, ABC 1094 (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. £680
Ex J.Follws collection
Ex Chris Rudd (sold for
£550 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-8000: Rare Celtic Tincomarus
COMF Type Quarter Stater. Regini
& Atrebates (south of the River Thames), Tincommius (now thought to be
Tincomarus based on the 1996 Alton Hoard), circa 25 BC to AD 10. Termed the Tincomarus TINC Horse: COMF in obverse
tablet, reverse depicting a galloping horse with "TIN" above and
"C" below, all housed in a wreath border. Spink 82, ABC 1085 (listed "Rare")
- Ancient British Coins (ABC) by Chris Rudd, the go-to reference for Celtic
coins since 2010, taking over from Van Arsdell.
An outstanding example from this sought after, attractive type, being
toned, lustrous and well struck.
Choice. See here for old
tickets etc and here
for the weight. £855 RESERVED (P.D.31-3-24)
Ex T. Matthews (sold 1985
for £350 to)
Ex Haddenham collection
Ex Spink
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-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 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. £3,150 RESERVED P.D.
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-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-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
