This week’s fresh listings (scroll down):

 

This page is to be updated every Tuesday and will contain all the latest Coin, Medal & Token listings for that particular week.

 

Additions to www.HistoryInCoins.com for week commencing Tuesday 14th September 2021

 

 

Previous Weeks’ Listings (scroll down this page for “This Week’s Listings”):

 

WMH-7185:  Richard II Hammered Silver Medieval Halfpenny.  Intermediate issue – no marks on breast, 1377-99, London mint.  Spink 1699.  A nice grade example.  £115

 

WSax-7186:  Anglo-Saxon Copper Styca.  Kings of Northumbria issue.  Eanred, 810-41, EADVINI as moneyer.  North 186, Spink 860.  £75

 

WJC-7187:  Charles 1st “Milled” Silver Pattern Shilling.  Attributed to Thomas Rawlins, 1625-42.  Initial mark Portcullis.  Crowned bust left, with collar and armour but unjewelled arches to crown / Oval scroll garnished shield between CR.  Similar to the Tower group D coinage so likely that the Portcullis initial mark of 1633-34 is the date of this coin.  Old tickets here.  North 2698 where it is listed as ER – Extremely Rare.  Reported to be 1 of only 5 known.  North states these particular patterns to be, “Resembling or adopted for current coinage” and this one certainly has been used in circulation as a shilling.  Ex Dr J.R. Hulett collection.  £2,350

 

WI-7188:  1602 Irish Elizabeth 1st Hammered Copper Halfpenny.  An excessively rare date for this denomination.  The entire Third Issue of Irish coinage, 1601-02 only, was an emergency issue brought about by the need to pay the large numbers of soldiers who were in Ireland.  Their role was to defeat the “independent and warlike” Irish of the North, under the leadership of O’Neil, and to expeditiously “Shire” Ireland and bring it under English rule, basically making Ireland an extension of England.  The Earl of Essex was in command of the English troops but was recalled to England where he was duly executed.  His replacement, Mountjoy, somewhat motivated by the fate of his predecessor, did a much better job.  Spink 6511A – Spink didn’t even bother differentiating between the two dates until recently as so few 1602 halfpennies exist.  The silver Third Coinage is much debased and the pence copper.  Halfpennies are rarer than pennies whilst 1602 halfpennies are very rare coins indeed.  £395

 

WSC-7189:  David 1st Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  1124-53.  In fact David 1st coins were the first Scottish coins to be officially issued.  Period D, posthumous issue struck under Malcolm IV.  Spink 5009 with lesser workmanship on the dies and although the legends were meaningless, they were at least composed of properly formed letters.  Obverse: crowned bust right with sceptre (although interestingly, it does appear that whilst the sceptre is right, David is facing left?), legend reads: (+D)AVIT; reverse: cross fleurdelisse, pellets in angles, legend blundered.  1.37g (struck on a large flan), SCBI 35, 9ff; B 15, fig.15.  Tentatively attributed to the Roxburgh mint.  Better than the best example Spink could find to illustrate – see here.  The National Museum in Edinburgh have no examples and the x5 period D examples shared between the Hunterian (Glasgow) and the Ashmolean (Oxford), one of which is a cut quarter, are not as good as this one.  A rare and important coin.  £3,625

 

WMH-7181:  Stephen Norman Period Hammered Silver Penny.  Cross Moline “Watford” type, B.M.C. 1 Colchester mint: EDWARD ON COLE.  Sold with a laminated cabinet ticket which neglects to give the Spink reference (Spink 1278) but does give provenance as, “ex Pheatt 1995”.  A superb portrait on this coin for issue, and together with Colchester being a rarer Norman mint town makes, it makes this a very nice coin indeed.  £995

 

WTH-7182:  1602 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Halfpenny.  Spink 2588.  An interesting coin on three counts:

1.     This is the final Seventh Issue and, with initial mark 2, also the very last coin struck not just during the reign of Elizabeth 1st, but in fact the very last Tudor coin ever issued.

2.     The grade is excellent.  Ex Spink (their old ticket here). 

3.     The Sixth coinage halfpenny dies were utilised for the Seventh coinage but developed a flaw very early on in 1601.  This was quickly repaired and in fact the repair was so successful that these same dies were used not only throughout the entirety of the Seventh coinage but also into the Stuart period, under James 1st (1603-4).  You can see the repair where the third horizontal appears to extent too far to the left.  This is actually quite important as halfpennies were a favourite of Elizabethan forgers due to the simplistic nature of the dies and the fact that low denominations would attract minimum scrutiny compared with higher denominations.  This coin is clearly not a forgery.

A very nice, desirable late Tudor coin and one you rarely see for sale with such a clear initial mark.  £155

 

WI-7177:  Irish Henry VIII Hammered Silver Groat or Fourpence.  First “Harp” issue (1534-40) but right at the very end – Spink 6475 – which is dated to 1540 only.  The earlier 1st issue coins were all dedicated to three wives of Henry but as a pattern was emerging, this practise stopped, although the change of wives clearly did not.  This last 1st issue is the rarest, being rarer than all the wife issues.  Interestingly, 1st issue coins are at a 0.842 fineness (typically in the UK we use 0.925 today) but this coin has all the characteristics of being more like a second issue (0.758 fineness) silver.  Funds were squandered under Henry’s watch and one of the ways they sought to remedy this was to debase the coinage.  For those interested, the Irish silver in coinage was “watered down” as follows: 1st issue = 0.842, 2nd issue = 0.758, 3rd issue = 0.833, 4th issue = 0.666, 5th issue = 0.500and 6th issue = 0.250.  The term “Old Copper Nose” was given under Henry’s reign as the latter silver coins literally had a copper colour after a bit of circulation, especially around the centre of the bust, ie around the nose area.  Sold with a detailed auction printout.  £325

 

WSC-7177:  1694 Scottish William & Mary Silver Five Shillings.  Conjoined heads to the left, WM monogram on the reverse.  Spink 5665 but the much rarer variation where the second V in GVLIELMVS is an inverted A.  I have never seen this variety before although Spink do list it.  £295

 

WTH-7179:  High Grade 1560-61 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Shilling.  Initial mark Cross Crosslet, bust 3c.  Spin 2555.  Better than VF as there is virtually no wear to this coin at all – note the Queen’s hair.  5.94g.  A delightful coin.  £645

 

WMH-7180:  Henry IV “House of Lancaster” Hammered Silver Penny.  Light coinage, 1412-13 only.  Durham mint – Spink 1735.  Lord Stewartby states that whilst production of gold throughout the reign of Richard II remained constant, silver was somewhat erratic and far from prolific – silver coins headed for the Continent in huge numbers as silver was worth more there than in the UK.  Under Henry IV is was far more of an issue.  Of the meagre coinage left, what you tend see of Henry IV coinage (if you’re lucky enough to see any at all!) is coinage worn and clipped to within an inch of its life.  Enough legend remains on this coin to make it unambiguously Henry IV, Durham.  Further, the bust is much better than most with clearly defined features.  A rare coin.  £645

 

WJC-7169:  Charles 1st Provincial Dovey-Furnace (Aberystwyth) Mint Hammered Silver Groat.  Initial mark Crown – Dovey-Furnace (Aberystwyth) mint (Ceredigion, Wales), 1648-9.  Spink 2911. Furnace is located some 7 miles NNE of Aberystwyth.  It is the site of a silver mill of The Society of the Mines Royal, one of two English mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568.  Coins, with a crown initial mark, were minted here in 1648/9, after the Civil War.  Denominations: Halfcrown, shilling, sixpence, groat, threepence, half-groat and penny. (Spink numbers 2908-14). Ex Arthur M Fitts III collection, ex CNG 2014.  Sold with an auction printout as well as a collector’s cabinet ticket.  Rich iridescent toning with the usual poor obverse strike.  The image of the coin in my hand was via a camera phone as for some reason today, the usual camera (definitely not the operator!) wasn’t performing as it should.  £895

 

WCA-7170:  1690 William & Mary Tin Farthing.  Spink 3451.  Minted using genuine Cornish tin in an effort by the government of the day to bolster the ailing tin industry in that part of England.  Counterfeiting was clearly a consideration as every tin coin that left the mint had a copper plug – designed as an anti counterfeiting measure.  Perhaps the Mint ought to have had similar considerations just a few decades on, during the mid to late 1700’s, when towards the end of the century, counterfeit (and we’re talking really obvious / very little effort re dies or even the final product) “copper” coins literally outnumbered the genuine coinage in circulation!  This coin is a very nice, honest example.  The image of the coin in my hand was via a camera phone as for some reason today, the usual camera (definitely not the operator!) wasn’t performing as it should.  £435

 

WMH-7171:  Henry II “Tealby” Cross & Crosslet Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Class A2 (1158-63), Willem of Carlisle.  Spink 1337.  Henry II was the first Plantagenet, being Empress Matilda’s son.  It was the promise of Henry II being allowed to take the throne upon Stephen’s death (Matilda was the rightful monarch by lineage, not Stephen) that led to negotiated peace under the Treaty of Wallingford.  Sold with a couple of old tickets.  The usual angled strike but otherwise a nice, unusually round example although northern mint towns such as Newcastle and Carlisle did tend to produce round coins, unlike most of the other mint towns.  £325

 

WTH-7172:  High Grade Henry VIII Hammered Silver Tudor Halfgroat.  First coinage, Canterbury mint.  Archbishop Warham issue with W and A flanking the coat of arms.  Spink 2321.  Sold with an auction printout as well as a collector’s cabinet ticket.  A handsome VF Tudor coin.  The image of the coin in my hand was via a camera phone as for some reason today, the usual camera (definitely not the operator!) wasn’t performing as it should.  £455

 

WCA-7173:  High Grade 1709 Queen Anne Isle of Man Cast Copper Penny.  James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby (1702-36), copper Penny, first cast issue, 1709, Stanley family crest of eagle over child in wicker basket, above the cap of maintenance, date below, legend with rosette stops, * SANS * CHANGER *, rev. struck en medaille, triskeles, legend surrounding, * QVOCVNQVE * GESSERIS * STABIT, weight 10.83g.  As cast with weak high point detail, crazed fields, good very fine for issue.  Spink 7401.  Provenance:  Ex Hilary F. Guard Collection, Spink Coin Auction, 29th June 2006.  A very high grade example – old auction ticket states “…believed to be one of the best specimens extant”.  Spink listed this at £700 in top grade, which this is.  A rare and choice coin.  £575

 

WMH-7165:  Richard II Hammered Silver Medieval Long Cross Penny.  An Episcopal issue struck under Archbishop Thomas Arundal of York, 1388-96.  Pellets by shoulders, cross on breast, local dies.  Spink 1692.  A rather crude depiction of Richard II and a die I don’t recall seeing in the flesh before – listed in Purvey on plate vii, die # 4).  Spink 1692.  17mm, 0.88g, 9h.  A remarkably full and round flan with almost all legends being clear and intact.  Even better, the portrait is superb through this being a very nice grade coin.  Though only good fine, it is undoubtedly well in the top 95% of extant York S.1692 pennies.  Two things are of interest here:

1.     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. 

2.     Potter suggests that York seemingly bucked this “lean” period as the York output was actually not small, even though London’s output was miniscule.  He postulates that rather than the shortage of silver being a limiting factor, it was the availability of die sinkers and therefore dies that was the problem.  There was either an insufficient quality of dies, or no dies were provided from London, thereby necessitating the production of “local” dies, something London clearly did not adopt.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.  The York pennies are usually grim and often verging on being unidentifiable through a combination of great wear due to a much reduced quantity of coinage in general circulation and the poor quality of the coinage leaving the mint in the first place.  This coin is a delightful example.  Sold with a detailed information slip together with a cabinet ticket.  £325

 

WSC-7168:  1687 James VII Scottish Silver Ten Shillings.  St Andrew’s cross with national emblems. Spink 5641.  A high grade example, being actually better than the Spink plate coin.  James VII was James II of England.  A short reign, brought about due to James’ most unpopular conversion to Catholicism.  Prior to this, James had had an excellent term as Duke of York by working alongside greats such as Samuel Pepys and Matthew Wren in improving the state of the Nation.  However, his actual reign was an unpleasant episode for all concerned.  Interestingly, it wasn’t religion, rather politics that sealed James’ fate - James attempted to impose his Catholic faith by decree; it was a political principle, rather than a religious one, that ultimately led to his removal.  This was all because, just like his father, Charles II, and those before him, James totally believed in his principles of absolutism and divine right of kings.  James had very little to do with Scotland during his short time as James VII, king of Scotland.  It is telling that Scotland, even though James VII produced his son and heir, James Francis Edward (the future Old Pretender), in a Scottish Convention followed that of England by finding that James had "forfeited" the throne and offered it to William and Mary.  Sold with a detailed information slip together with a cabinet ticket.  A rare coin indeed in this grade.  £1,175

 

WAu-7157:  Edward III Hammered Gold Noble. Treat-Period, 1361-69.  Class II, Calais mint, voided quatrefoil before EDWARD above sail.  EDW ARD’DI GRA REX AnGL + FRAnC DnS hIB + AQVIT.  7.63 grams, 5h, initial mark cross pattee.  Isladulcie 44, Schneider 1-115, North 1281, Spink 1521.  Good weight, uniformly struck up on round flan – bold VF.  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.  Ex Spink, ex Trajan collection.  £7,895

 

WAu-7147:  Richard II Medieval Hammered Gold Noble.  Type IIB, London mint with French titles omitted: RIC|ARD:DEI:GRA:REX:AnGL:DnS:hIB Z AQT.  Full weight and the fine style variety of Spink 1655.  A good, old VF in grade and problem-free.  Ex Trajan collection, ex Spink.  A choice example.  £6,795

 

WI-7148:  Richard III Hammered Silver Irish Penny.  Cross & Pellets coinage of 1483-5.  Dublin mint [CIVI] TAS [DV]B L[IN].  Annulets by neck, distinctive Richard III face: Burns DU-17R, Spink 6410 (2020: £3,500 VF).  Small of flan, as always - it is thought that these coins were not always heavily clipped; rather they were full size dies struck on very short flans.  A very rare coin indeed.  £1,895

 

WTH-7142:  Edward VI Tudor Hammered Silver Shilling.  Second period, January 1549 to April 1550; second debased issue.  Initial mark Bow.  Durham House issue and unlike other shillings from this period, undated.  5.67 grams, 31mm diameter.  Spink 2477.  The coin is not broken at 7 o’clock – the edge is smooth to the touch and was issued from the mint exactly like this.  Excellent silver for this debased issue and undoubtedly the best grade example I have ever handled.  Sold with an old ticket.  Choice.  £1,850

 

WCA-7145:  1686 James II Tin Halfpenny.  Copper plug intact, slabbed by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as XF45 – the lower end of the EF grade bandwidth.  All tin coins are extremely rare in this high grade with this date (the rarest of all three dates) stated as Very Rare by Peck.  Further, the coin database shows this to be only the second example of a 1686 being offered on the open market since 2003, the other being ex Dr Nicholson collection.  Choice.  £1,950

 

                                                                                                                                                                      


This Week’s Listings

 

 

WAu-7190:  Charles II Gold Touch-Piece: Guaranteed to have been personally touched by King Charles II.  An ancient practice – that of The Devine (the monarchy was seen very much as a physical, tangible extension of God) healing sufferers of Scrofula (Tuberculosis) – dating as far back as Henry II.  All subsequent monarchs took some part in the ceremony (William & Mary refused beause William was not of English royal decent) although Henry VIII was the most reluctant.  Interestingly, although somewhat disinclined due to an unwillingness to mingle with the common man, it was Henry who initiated the design of St George and the dragon on subsequent Touching Ceremony gold coins.  At the dawn of the Restoration, no other monarch in English history believed more in this divine right of kings than Charles II.  A such, even though it meant being in the presence of the afflicted common people (it is estimated that 1% of the London population suffered during this time), Charles was an enthusiastic advocate of the Touching Ceremony.  Charles II personally attended these ceremonies and physically handed the touch-piece to each and every sufferer.  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, received your gold coin from the king himself and hopefully left as a cured individual.  The Ticket-Token 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.  Touching Ceremonies were scheduled weekly, although never when the weather was warm.  During Charles’s exile under England’s Commonwealth, Charles had actually “touched” at Touching Ceremonies in the Low Countries using 10 shilling pieces, or whatever was available.  Charles’s first Touching Ceremony as king was just four weeks after his return and weekly from then on – he felt it was that important; not for the sufferers, but entirely for himself and his personal profile.  During that time, he again used any coinage that he had to hand, which clearly couldn’t be anything to do with Cromwell or the Commonwealth.  It took four years before John Roettier designed and struck the official gold touch-pieces.  In 1684, the size of the gold touch-pieces were reduced.  This touch-piece is one of the earlier, full weight examples.  The value of these pieces was some 10 shillings so very few would have survived the temptation of being spent as currency and thus quickly melted down upon numerous currency recalls, not least upon the death of monarchs.  Very rare indeed; more so due to the grade.  £1,950

 

WAu-7191:  James II Gold Touch-Piece: Guaranteed to have been personally touched by King James II.  An ancient practice – that of The Devine (the monarchy was seen very much as a physical, tangible extension of God) healing sufferers of Scrofula (Tuberculosis) – dating as far back as Henry II.  All subsequent monarchs took some part in the ceremony (William & Mary refused because William was not of English royal decent) although Henry VIII was the most reluctant.  Interestingly, although somewhat disinclined due to an unwillingness to mingle with the common man, it was Henry who initiated the design of St George and the dragon on subsequent Touching Ceremony gold coins.  Although James’s brother, King Charles II, was an enthusiastic believer in the divine right of kings, James was actually more prolific in his touching, the number of sick being brought to him being as much as 14,364 in one year.  Clearly James II had an extremely short-lived reign, and it must be noted that for the first months of touching, he actually used the left over Charles II gold pieces – some 1,905 of them.  Again, the new touch-pieces were the work of John Roettier.  It is estimated that 1% of the London population suffered during this time), so James was never short of participants.  Interestingly, his ultimately toxic religious views seemed to have mattered very little to the average man in the street who was suffering from this extremely unpleasant disease – if James II could cure him, bring it on!  James II personally attended these ceremonies and physically handed the touch-piece to each and every sufferer.  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, received your gold coin from the king himself and hopefully left as a cured individual.  The Ticket-Token were collected and re-issued for the next Touching Ceremony.  James II touched no less than 12,000 a year during his short reign.  Touching Ceremonies were scheduled weekly, although never when the weather was warm.  Under Charles II, in 1684 the size of the gold touch-pieces were reduced and this was maintained under James.  The value of these pieces was some 5 shillings so very few would have survived the temptation of being spent as currency and thus quickly melted down upon numerous currency recalls, not least upon the death of monarchs.  Very rare indeed; more so due to the shortness of King James’s reign.  £1,850

 

WTH-7192:  Philip & Mary Hammered Silver Tudor Groat.  Initial mark Lis, 1554-8, Spink 2508.  Ex Baldwin’s.  A particularly pleasing example.  £675

 

WJC-7193:  1646 Charles 1st Hammered Silver Late Declaration Sixpence.  Bridgnorth-on-Severn mint.  Crowned bust left, plume before face.  Reverse has a scroll above the declaration.  Spink 3041 – a single type.  Pleasing grade and most unusually completely round with no splits, cracks or other defects.  The coin is centrally struck both sides with a near perfect 180 degree die rotation.  This coin has been sat for a great many years face up, probably in an open cabinet, as the obverse is very darkly toned.  The reverse is fresh to the point of looking like it’s been cleaned, which clearly can not be the case.  Upon close inspection, there is evidence of ancient gum traversing the three plumes so perhaps there was an old ticket stuck to the reverse for a great number of years?  £895

 

WMH-7194:  Stephen Hammered Silver Norman Halfpenny.  B.M.C. 2, voided cross & stars type, 1145-50.  It is now acknowledged that the mint cut varying percentages of round pennies, albeit a tiny proportion, in order to release pence and halfpence into circulation.  (+RODBERT:O)N:RIS – the very rare Castle Rising mint in North Norfolk.  Spink 1280.  Castle Rising served as a temporary mint (1145-58 only) for the king’s forces in Norfolk.  Same dies as CNG Triton VIII, lot 1768.  A very rare coin and one that’s not going to cost you £2,000+.  Incidentally, in Scandinavia, with a cut half, you’ll pay 50% of the price of the full coin!  Sold with an old ticket together, an information slip and a presentation case.  £295

 

WSC-7195:  1568 Scottish James VI Hammered Silver Full Ryal or Sword Dollar.  First coinage, struck in the second year of James’s reign and the rarest date of the coinage.  Spink 5472.  A huge coin and interestingly, one that escaped the recall and revaluation of 1578 when upon receiving the counterstamp, the value of the coin rose from 30 shillings to 36s 9d.  This image shows just how hefty a coin it was in the 1560’s.  Approaching VF for issue.  £1,250

 

WI-7196:  Irish Charles 1st “Great Rebellion” Hammered Silver Ormonde TWOPENCE.  Issued by the Lords Justices at Dublin and termed Ormond Money due to the Earl of Ormonde being appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in 1643.  This issue demonstrated allegiance to the monarch by incorporating the king’s crown on the obverse.  AR Twopence (13mm, 0.84 g, 10h). Issued 1643-1644. Large C•R; crown above; all within linear and beaded border / Large I•I; D above; all within linear and beaded border. D&F 310; SCBC 6550.  The twopence is the rarest in terms of extant numbers of all seven denominations, and by some margin.  Very few have been offered for sale in recent years. Toned. VF for issue thus rarer still.  Arguably one of the finest known examples; the piece in the 2000 Millenial sale (Whytes) had been heavily scored on the obverse; the Lockett piece is very small with the arches of the crown reaching the edge of the coin on what is essentially an undersized flan. Among the few other examples I found offered in the last decade this one combines the best centring and completeness of detail as much or more than any other, including the Stack's Tallent piece (April 2008) which sold for $4,000. That piece was partly struck off the flan and the obverse crown was a fair bit cruder.  Choice and excessively rare.  Sold with a cabinet ticket and an information slip.  £1,650