This week’s fresh listings:

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

The more observant of you may have realised that I no longer keep previous "Fresh Listings" coins on this page.

All for sale coins can be found via the category grid on the front page. Most sold coins are now accessible via a new link on that same category grid.

Additions to www.HistoryInCoins.com for week commencing Tuesday 22nd October 2024

This week's fresh listings:

WRS-8999: 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 Med

iterranean 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 in circulation, but more than that, true history in a coin! £435

Provenance:

ex Helmingham Hoard of 2019

WSax-9000: An EXCEPTIONAL Middle Saxon OFFA Hammered Silver Penny. Substantive light coinage, c.780-92, London mint, small flan type, moneyer DUDDA, Spink 904, North 287 (misattributed on ticket), Chick 27a-c (same dies), SCBI BM 62 (same die). This Spink reference encompasses many different reverses, this one being termed a beaded line with forked or cross ends - that goes for the obverse also. An outstanding strike, and an even better state of preservation. Collectors will be aware that the metal of these coins often crystallises, resulting in fractures and particularly edge damage. This coin has none of that - it is better and more stable than any number of Edward 1st silver pennies, which are bomb-proof compared to the usual Offa pennies you see! I have literally never seen another Offa penny as good as this in the flesh before. Choice. SOLD

WJC-9001: Charles 1st Silver Royalist Supporters' Badge. Side profile of King Charles 1st, reverse incuse crowned Royal arms. Importantly, the suspension loop is intact. Medallic Illustrations (i) 233/235, Eimer 173. Probably by Thomas Rawlins. Cast and slightly chased. The solid gold die pair of this medal resides in the British Museum. Charles 1st was likely deceased at this point as this was a Commonwealth period Royalist badge - something tangible for Royalists to focus on during the disagreeable rule of Cromwell. They were often sewn into the inside of clothing so as not to be on show, for obvious reasons. A very nice example. £595

WSC-9002: Bonnie Prince Charlie Scottish Jacobite Medal - 1749. The Legitimacy of Jacobite Succession. A highlander squares up with the legend, "Who can contend with me? I will leave no stone unturned to obtain that". The reverse an expanded rose with the legend, "My affairs are at issue" - a reference to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which basically meant that the French (the Jacobites only friendly state at the time) switched from them to George II of England. The French king literally pledged himself to not permit any member of the Stuart family to reside within his territory. As the French Revolution was still some decades off, this was a serious problem for the Stuarts. This medal, yet another master class in symbolism, targeted the Stuart partisans to keep the cause alive in the minds of their friends, although by this point in history, that was virtually all it was. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 655/358 (listed as RARE), Eimer 624. Sold with an old ticket and an even older Baldwin's envelope. A rare medal full of the usual Jacobite symbolism and imagery. £545