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 11th February 2025
WSC-9080:
1560 Scottish Francis and
Mary Hammered Silver Testoon. Second period, where Mary was
married to Francis II of France (Mary became queen aged just 7 days old but was
educated early on in France, which is where she met the Dauphin), 1558-60. The Dauphin became Francis II of France in 1559, aged just 15 years. He married Mary the year before (1558) so was
king of Scotland before he was king of France.
Francis died aged just 16. Type
II, dated 1560, Spink 5417. Of
remarkably high grade for any issue, English or otherwise, but all the more so
for being Scottish. A touch better than
the Spink plate coin, that being the very best example our friends at Spink
could find to use as their plate coin with all the famous collections they must
have access to. There are no examples of
this coin on the NGC (coin slabbing) database, although there are examples from
Spink 5416 and 5418, illustrating clearly just how rare a coin this is,
regardless of grade. A common trend of
late is for US dealers to hoover up all rare, high grade coinage, pay $50 or so
to get the coins slabbed and then sell the slabbed coins on to collectors for
up to double the original buying-in price.
This coin would attract an NGC grade of at least AU58 (about
uncirculated 58) and very possibly higher still - it is that good a coin. Slabbed coins are not for everyone, myself
included, but this gives you an insight as to the direction things are
moving. Even if this coin escapes
encapsulation, the overriding trend in recent decades is that high grade coins
(and if they're rare, all the better still) are at a premium and will
invariably prove to be excellent investments, not to mention looking good in
your collection! Good VF / near EF. Easily choice.
£3,375