A selection of some of the better / more interesting coins SOLD through

HistoryInCoins.com

 

in 2025

 

WTH-7955:  Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver UNDATED Sixpence.  Initial mark Lion, 1567, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2562A.  Comber, Wilkinson & Brown (2006, updated 2012) in their seminal publication on Elizabethan coinage list only three examples recorded, one of which is held by the British Museum (ref CT-2201).  My understanding is that in the decade following on from the update, there are now four examples recorded: the British Museum example, initial mark Lion, 1st February 1567 to 30th June 1567 [the CT-2201 coin], initial mark Coronet, 1st July 1567 to 28th February 1570, initial mark Ermine, 19th April 1572 to 30th October 1573, and this coin, another initial mark Lion, sold to the Comber collection in 2010 and, for whatever reason, not included in the 2012 update.  Comber, Wilkinson & Brown do not go into any details regarding the undated issues, save only to suggest that the reverse dies on all sixpences were initially prepared with no date, that being added later.  That doesn't quite add up and to be fair, Comber, Wilkinson & Brown do caveat their suggestion by stating that overdates are known for most dates during this period.  No Comber ticket (as is often the case - his collection was vast and very much a work in progress right up to the end) but Comber did annotate the earlier ticket with the maximum "RRRR".  The more observant of you will see that chronologically, an undated sixpence is missing from the initial mark Castle period, there being two undated sixpences before initial mark Castle and one after.  It does seem a stretch to me that these undated coins are simply down to carelessness at the mint - perhaps one, but three?  With an estimated Elizabeth 1st survival rate today of between four and ten coins per die, we might conceivably look forward to the day when some lucky metal detector unearths "Lucy", the missing link; an undated CASTLE sixpence?!  Regulars will smile wryly, being all too aware that I frequently bang on about 1597 being the rarest dated sixpence.  And so it is, but if you're an Elizabeth 1st sixpence collector, the 1597 is as nothing compared to the rarity of the legendary undated sixpence!!  You will likely never see another one of these for sale ever again.  Ex Chris Comber collection, purchased DNW 2010.  You'll need to be quick on this one!  SOLD

 

WTH-7959:  1574 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.  Initial mark obverse Eglantine; reverse Eglantine over Acorn.  One of the clearest initial mark counterstamps you're ever likely to see.  Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2563.  What is of great interest here is the obverse initial mark, it being originally an Acorn reverse die (1st November 1573 to 25th May 1574) recycled for use as an Eglantine coin (29th May 1574 to 13th July 1578).  There is no overdate evident although the final digit, a 4, shows every indication of being added after the die was cut, ie the reverse die was prepared with 157- in place with the final digit to be added to correspond with whatever year it was when the die was finally put into production.  The original Comber ticket highlights the overmark, attributing a very impressive "RR" rarity rating to the coin.  Such initial mark overstamps are recorded and, as you'd expect, are very rare indeed.  There is a similar coin listed on this site with Initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine which is rarer still.  Ex Brown, ex Wilkinson, ex Chris Comber collections.  A very rare coin indeed with the added benefit of being endowed with attractive toning and better grade.  SOLD

 

WTH-7470:  1601 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.  Seventh Issue, initial mark 1, Spink 2585.  1601 as a date represents a frequency of 0.6% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.7% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.  1601 is the tenth rarest of all forty two dates.  These later date coin, and you don’t get much later than this, other than the obvious, were nearly always poorly struck, often using dies of a lesser standard compared to the start of the reign.  This coin is stunning, easily being the best grade example I’ve ever had, or probably seen.  If it wasn’t for the damage, it would be a four figure coin.  SOLD

 

WTH-7956:  1587/6/5 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.  Initial mark Crescent, Bust 5B, Sixth issue, Spink 2578.  This is the much rarer 7 over 6 over 5 overdate (there is evidence of a high 5's lower crescent), this being a recorded overdate, along with the 1587/6.  Both overdates are equally rare with the straight 87 being most commonly encountered.  1587 as a date represents a frequency of 0.9% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.0% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.  1587 is the twelfth rarest of all forty two dates, but do please bear in mind that 12th rarest is for a straight, non overdate 1587.  Ex Lingford collection, purchased from Lingford by Baldwins in 1951, ex Chris Comber collection.  SOLD

 

WTH-7957:  1577/6 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.  Initial mark Eglantine, Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2563.  The overdate couldn't be clearer.  It may be of interest to read that this is such a rare date that there are only these 1577/6 overdates recorded, ie there are literally no straight 1577 coins, meaning that all 1577 sixpence reverse dies were recycled from earlier years.  1577 as a date represents a frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.4% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.  1577 is the sixth rarest of all forty two dates.  Nice grade and attractively toned thus a very rare coin.  Ex Chris Comber collection.  SOLD

 

WTH-7958:  1575 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.  Initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine; reverse Eglantine.  Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2563.  There is no evidence of this date being 1575/2 as suggested in one of the unidentified tickets and indeed, that combination currently does not exist as a recorded overdate.  What is of great interest is the obverse initial mark, it being originally an Ermine die (19th April 1572 to 30th October 1573) recycled for use as an Eglantine coin (29th May 1574 to 13th July 1578).  No Comber ticket (as is often the case - his collection was vast and very much a work in progress right up to the end) but the old, unidentified ticket states "Eglantine over Acorn?" and then, in another hand, "highly unlikely".  In my opinion, this coin was originally a much earlier Ermine - the two upper horizontals being evident either side of the counterstamped Eglantine.  Such initial mark overstamps are recorded and, as you'd expect, are very rare indeed.  There is a similar coin listed on this site with initial mark obverse Eglantine over Acorn; reverse Eglantine.  Comber attributed a rarity value of "RR" to that coin (this one would be rarer still), which illustrates just how atypical these coins are.  This coin, initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine is rarer because of the greater separation of time between the two marks.  Bust 5 was introduced July or August 1573 on Ermine dies thus this is a very late Ermine obverse die, altered to Eglantine, and then paired with a mid-production Eglantine reverse.  Ex Chris Comber collection.  A very rare coin indeed.  SOLD

 

WSax-7974:  Edward the Confessor Hammered Silver Saxon Penny.  Pointed helmet type, B.M.C. VII, c.1053-6 only.  +STIRCOL ON EOFER - York mint.  Spink 1179.  An outstanding well struck example, being the best I've ever handled, slightly impaired by the ragged flan.  Easily a four figure coin otherwise.  SOLD

 

WTH-7977:  Philip and Mary Hammered Silver Tudor Groat.  Initial mark Lis, 1554-58.  Spink 2508.  Mary was the only child of Henry VIII (her mother was Catherine of Aragon) to survive to adulthood.  Mary quickly and efficiently disposed of Lady Jane Gray – proclaimed Queen when Mary’s younger brother Edward VI, died at age 9 – by beheading her, a process not unfamiliar to her, being the daughter of Henry VIII!!  Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain was entirely political – his close aid once wrote: "The marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration!"  Ex Lingford (December 1948) collection, ex Chris Comber collection.  SOLD

 

WI-7735:  1543 Henry VIII Irish Hammered Silver Harp Groat.  Third Harp issue, 1543 only.  0.833 silver fineness, which interestingly, in view of Henry VIII’s penchant for progressively reducing the silver content of his coinage throughout the reign, is actually a HIGHER silver content compared to the Second Harp issue of 1540-42.  Rest assured though, the fourth issue was 0.666, the fifth 0.500 and the sixth 0.250.  Initial mark Tudor Rose.  Spink 6481.  A very nice grade coin indeed, possibly edging the Spink plate coin.  SOLD

 

WTH-7802:  1562 Elizabeth 1st Machine Screw-Press Silver Threepence.  Tall bust with no ear showing, initial mark Star, medium rose, Spink 2603.  A much rarer denomination with only x4 different dates.  I again refer the reader to the factual statement at the top of the Elizabeth 1st page, highlighted in yellow, which will comprehensively illustrate just how rare this denomination is.  Spink sold a similar example some time ago for £1,140 after commissions.  It should be noted that in that auction, Spink misidentified the coin by attributing it as Spink 2604.  It was Spink 2603.  Probably only the 3rd threepence I have ever had.  SOLD

 

WTH-7804:  1580 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence  Fifth issue, initial mark Latin or Long Cross, which was in use 1st June 1580 to 31st December 1581 so much more prevalent of 1581 coins.  Further, there are overdates recorded – 1580/79, of which this coin is decidedly not – so it’s a fair assumption to date this coin to the latter months of the second half of 1580.  Interestingly, no 1580 dies were recycled post this date.  Likely to have been part of a hoard at some point as the coin has been historically cleaned and the grade is outstanding.  Note the reverse, which as good as you’ll ever see on one of these.  The coin is probably not far off “as struck” with the obverse being a tad under-struck, coupled with some slight double striking.  Even taking grade out of the equation, this is a particularly well made specimen, especially as 1580 is at the point where quality of the dies and the actual end product started to fall off the cliff!  There is a scratch to the neck which could be as a result of recovery from the ground, or perhaps a test scratch to ascertain authenticity because the coin was probably a stand-out example when it hit the streets.  Just speculation, though.  1580 as a date represents a frequency of 3.7% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 4.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.  Spink 2572.  A very desirable coin.  SOLD

 

WCom-7854:  1649 Commonwealth Hammered Silver Shilling.  Initial mark Sun, struck London (Commonwealth coinage, particularly the early, larger denominations, was fairly London-centric in their circulation anyway), Spink 3217.  It is interesting to note that being the very first date in Cromwell's "non reign", the design was perhaps more style over substance.  In subsequent years, although clearly not in 1650, more thought was put into the die design in order to produce a better all-round coin - no pun intended.  To all intents and purposes, this 1649 design is unique to this single year, albeit extremely subtle to the uneducated eye!  I strongly recommend you browse the excellent Sun & Anchor website which is dedicated to Commonwealth coinage.  Regarding the reference on the ticket to the "Shove Groat" game: until fairly recently, and it may even still be going somewhere today, shove hapenny was a pub game.  I'm aware of Edward VI fine silver shillings being used where the coin was always obverse down, thus attracting much more wear that side.  Incidentally, these coins, and coins of a similar period as well, are sometimes marked in the fields with graffiti - this is thought to be players of this parlour game putting their own identifying marks on their "gaming coins".  Shakespeare actually refers to Edward VI shillings being used in this way (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and the famous Stuart, self-named "Water Poet", John Taylor, wrote several lines about the Edward VI shove shilling game in his "Travailes of a Shilling" work (London, 1621).  However, I think it's a stretch to say this Commonwealth shilling has lived a life of  "Shove Groat" (groats were an earlier iteration of this game which were very much superseded by shillings): there was no obvious obverse on these coins (Cromwell was adamant he was not to appear monarch-like by having his portrait on coinage, at least until he had a change of heart in 1656! and 1658!) and I'm aware of no evidence that in a time when Edward VI coinage would still be circulating, especially outside of London, Commonwealth coins were used for this act.  It was the obverse or head being face down that was the important thing in the game, other than winning!!  So, probably nothing to do with any of the above (!), but none-the-less, a rarer, sought after year.  SOLD

 

WSC-7744:  1625 Charles 1st Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings.  First coinage, first date in series, Spink 5543.  This is an excessively rare issue – Charles’ Scottish coronation didn’t happen until 1633 and no new dies were produced until then.  Dies of James VI were altered, under an official directive, and coinage was issued as Charles 1st using the old, modified dies  This resulted in the Twelve Shilling and Six Shilling coins literally having a bust of James VI on the front with just a quick name change to the legend and a tweak or two to the beard.  This Charles 1st Six Shilling issue, along with the James VI Six Shilling issue, often goes well under the radar with many people think these coins are simply English dated sixpences.  I refer the reader to the Scottish James VI section of this website for extra information.  You might be thinking that this isn’t much of a coin to look at and just looking at it, you’d be correct.  However, nice grade examples do not turn up simply because this issue was generally poorly struck using modified, often worn-out dies.  The Spink plate coin is a £5,000+ coin.  This is one of the rarest Charles 1st Scottish silver coin issues, if not the rarest.  I’d be surprised if this coin didn’t attract a buyer very quickly.  SOLD

 

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.  SOLD

 

WSC-9059:  James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Eightpenny Groat.  Coinage of 1583-90, being before James VI took on the English throne after the death of Elizabeth 1st in 1604.  Edinburgh mint.  An issue of 0.25 fineness.  OPPID EDINB legend with hairline inner circles, Spink 5512.  An excellent example for type.  SOLD

 

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.  SOLD

Ex Chris Rudd (sold for £650 back in the day)

Ex Northern collection

 

WMH-9037:  Edward V or Richard III Hammered Silver Medieval Groat.  Type 2a, reading EDWARD DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC.  London mint, initial mark Boar's Head 1 struck over Sun & Rose 1.  Spink 2155.  Obverse dies in the name of Edward with an underlying Sun & Rose 1 initial mark.  In 1483, on 12th February, the Cinquefoil coinage of Edward IV's type XXI ended.  The new mint master, Bartholomew Reed, entered into an indenture with the king and thus Sun & Rose 1 was introduced.  Edward died on the 9th April 1483 but Sun & Rose 1 continued through the very short reign of Edward V and into the reign of Richard III.  This ended on 20th July when a new indenture was prepared by Robert Brackenbury to introduce the Boar's Head mark.  The dies were prepared very soon after Richard III ascended the throne on 26th June 1483.  Boar’s Head initial mark - the White Boar was the personal device or badge of Richard III and dear to his heart.  Richard III was the last of the medieval monarchs, losing to Henry Tudor on Bosworth Field, or as is now the current thinking, on a field a few short miles from that famous location.  The famous "King in the Carpark."  Whist Richard was no saint (I think some poor decisions and a ruthless streak that they all had at that time was about as bad as it got), he probably wasn't a ‘child killer’, ‘murderer’, or ‘usurper’, at least no more than any other medieval monarch.  Don't believe all that Shakespeare tells you!!  So here we have a coin struck from an obverse die that was very much part of the Holy Grail of Edward V's coinage but modified by the addition of Richard III's beloved Boar’s Head initial mark, but crucially leaving the old regnal name intact.  Coincraft place this coin under the Edward V category whilst Spink place it under Richard III.  Incidentally, as a Richard III groat, it is the rarest type, other than the York example - the last one of those I saw go through auction achieved £7,000 before commission.  An extremely rare coin indeed.  SOLD

Provenance:

ex Spink (sold August 2014 for £3,010)

ex Frank Limouze collection (dispersed 2024)

 

WMH-7711:  William 1st Hammered Silver Norman Penny.  B.M.C. 1, Profile left, cross fleury issue of 1066-68.  +BRIHTNAR ON PIN – Britmar of Wallingford (Oxford).  Spink 1250.  A rare Norman mint.  Only two other examples recorded on the EMC / SCBI database, making this the third and one of those is unconfirmed.  This is a better coin than the other confirmed example.  Ex Seaby (sold for £275 in 1979), ex Royal Berkshire Collection – see tickets.  Nicely toned, good VF.  A superb coin going all the way back to the actual Norman invasion – Harold’s arrow to the eye, the Bayous Tapestry etc.  SOLD

 

WI-9034:  Excellent Edward VI Irish Tudor Hammered Silver Groat or Sixpence.  Posthumous (Henry VIII) old head coinage, 1547 - 1550.  CIVI TAS DVB LINIE - Dublin mint.  Initial mark P.  The final type IV issue (small right facing bust; very much in the style of the English Tower groats) and so nearer to 1550 in date.  Spink 6488.  Struck in the name of Henry VIII and with the old head portrait of Henry VIII, even though by the time this coin hit the streets of Ireland, Henry had been dead for nearly three years.  The reason for the old king's details on the coinage was not, as most people understand, simply because Edward was too young to do "kingly stuff", or because people still loved the old king, or even that the Irish were slow off the mark - it was actually done to con the people, or rather to carry on conning the people, but conning them just a little bit more.  Actual Henry VIII base coinage, struck towards the end of his reign, was very debased as a way of making money for the mint, and therefore the country, after Henry had all but emptied the country's coffers.  The English ministers planned to bring the currency of England (not Ireland!) back up to .925 alloy from little better than copper and indeed they did this in 1551 with the English fine silver issues.  To pay for this, the Irish debased coinage would continue for a further x4 years after the death of Henry and crucially, having the old king's name and portrait on the coins would, it was thought, trick the public into accepting the poor coins.  Remember, the coin in your hand back then was supposed to be the face value in silver, so much so that the coin itself was largely irrelevant - all you needed was a penny's worth of scrap silver to purchase a penny loaf of bread.  These debased coins were far from being worth their face value in metal.  The bit where the English ministers conned the people just a little bit more was in making the silver content of the Edward VI coinage just a little bit better than the worst of the Henry VIII coinage BUT they increasing the face value from a groat (fourpence) to a sixpence WITHOUT upping the metal content.  Basically, same coin but a revaluation.  To further rub salt into the wound, whilst in 1551 the English were enjoying bright shiny fine silver coinage of .925 alloy, the Irish, in 1552, having suffered in order to pay for the English fine silver halcyon days, suffered further by having their coinage reduced even more to .250!  So here we have a coin that is Henry VIII and/or Edward VI and a denomination of 4d and/or 6d!  More importantly, we have here an excellent grade example with an unusually clear initial mark.  Superior to the Spink plate coin in terms of edge and legends.  A rare offering.  SOLD

Provenance

Ex Tim Owen

 

WTH-9028:  1586 Medal Beseeching Help From Elizabeth 1st.  A dated Jetton or Medalet from the Low Countries imploring Elizabeth 1st step in and help with the trouble Belgium was having with Portugal.  As ever with these pieces, symbolism abounds: two handcuffed (Belgian) hands reaching for the compassionate heart of Elizabeth 1st and England.  MI(i)134/89.  Sold with an old Netherlands' ticket.  The first example of this medalet I've seen.  SOLD

 

WI-9050:  Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn Hammered Silver Irish Groat.  Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, the second and probably most famous of his six wives.  Spink 6472.  The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 and the rarest of the three wives mentioned on silver coinage, irrespective as to what Spink claim.  Dated to 1534-5, in commemoration of a marriage that lasted just three years, produced the future Queen Elizabeth 1st but ultimately ended in Anne losing her head, quite literally, because she could not produce a male heir.  This issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with later issues going the same way as that of the English silver coinage under Henry, ie downhill.   This is only the third Anne Boleyn groat I've had, the first I remember selling within minutes of it being listed.  Sold with an old (unidentified) ticket.  A rare coin and in exceptional grade for issue.  SOLD

 

WI-7266:  Irish Henry VIII Hammered Silver Groat.  Issued in commemoration of Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour.  Spink 6473.  The rarer First (1st) Harp Issue, 1534-40 but this coin dated 1536-7 in commemoration of Henry’s marriage.  Subsequent wives to see their names (initials) in lights, or specifically on Harp groats, were Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.  Anne of Cleves seems to have been overlooked by Henry and by the time of Catherine Parr, he seemed to have realised that perhaps the coinage couldn’t keep up with his marriages.  This issue is at 0.842 silver fineness with later issues going the same way as that of the English silver coinage, ie downhill.  See here for old tickets – ex Spink, ex Bosworth.  Rare.  SOLD

 

WI-7575:  Rare Type 1 1722 George 1st Irish William Wood’s Copper Halfpenny.  Slabbed under NGC and graded by them as AU 50, meaning about Uncirculated.  Spink 6600.  Extra images here and here.  Rare in this grade, rarer still being this first issue.  Incidentally, when you visit the NGC page for this coin, it states that the current market value, something it helpfully does for all NGC slabbed coins, is £658, although bizarrely, EF grade in Spink 2020 is £1,200 in EF and NGC seem to think this coin is a grade above EF?!  Contemporary planchet faults at 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock, otherwise a wonderful coin in both rarity and grade.  SOLD

 

WI-8101:  1690 Irish Gun Money Full Crown.  James II emergency Civil War coinage of 1689-91.  Spink 6578.  Overstruck on the large Gun Money halfcrowns because by 1690 these were obsolete; replaced by the small size halfcrowns.  Much original halfcrown detail still evident on the reverse, which is what sets this coin above nearly all others - I don't recall ever having seen the original host date of 1689 being not only so visible but literally next to the new date of 1690 before!  The obverse of the Gun Money crown (and it is just the crowns) has similarities to the earlier Charles 1st halfcrowns and crowns, which I’m sure was far from accidental.  It won’t have escaped readers’ attention that Gun Money coinage is currently riding high in terms of popularity.  After fleeing from England to France in 1688 – an effective abdication from the English throne – James II landed in Ireland March 1689 in order to promote his Catholic cause, something we are perhaps still living with today?!  He had insufficient funds to prosecute this war so the plan was to raise money by issuing base metal coinage in place of what would previously have been silver issues.  This was a less subtle example of the Quantitative Easing that we all witnessed a few years ago.  This coinage was set up with an intention for them to be exchanged for sterling coinage once the dust had settled.  This never happened.  The metal for these coins came from old cannon, bells and various other scrap metals that were termed “Gun Money”.  Although not looking high grade, it actually is - it's the soft strike resulting in the halfcrown detail being visible which accounts for this.  A very good and desirable coin indeed.  SOLD

 

WSC-9051:  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.  The exact mintage of this date and denomination was just 3,496 between 5th Jan to 5th Dec 1694.  This is tiny and just shows you how little Scottish coinage in general was minted.  That, coupled with the remarkable grade this coin is in - Scottish coinage was in such short supply that it was constantly being used / circulated / worn; never being hoarded - illustrates just how rare this coin is.  SOLD

 

WCom-9048:  1653 Oliver Cromwell Silver Medal.  A cast medium sized silver medal by T. Simon to commemorate the elevation of Cromwell to the position of Lord Protectorate on 16th December 1653.  Old tickets here.  The portrait of Cromwell was copied from a miniature by Cooper which was held by the Duke of Devonshire, their seat still being Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.  The British Museum holds a gold example of this medal.  The reverse die of this medal broke across the middle very early on and wasn't replaced, thus resulting in a very limited mintage.  Medallic Illustrations (i) 409/45 and Eimer 188b.  Some original mercury gilding evident on the reverse.  A rare medal.  SOLD

Provenance:

Ex "Numismata Cromwelliana", the property of a gentleman

 

WAu-9025:  Charles 1st Hammered Gold SCOTTISH Eighth Unit.  Third coinage, 1637-42, Briot issue, right at the start of this coinage.  Spink 5538.  An EF grade coin, far surpassing the plate coin Spink put up, with all the vast resources at their fingertips.  Some interesting political graffiti lightly behind the king's head ("6" - obviously someone back in the day making a point as to the Scottish heritage of both the coin and the king) which is barely discernable and would polish out if desired.  An outstanding coin with equally impressive provenance.  See here for all the old tickets and here for weight.  An exciting and very rare Scottish hammered gold offering.  SOLD

Provenance

Ex Mark Rasmusson (2013), sold to

Ex Maurice Bull collection, dispersed to

Ex Noonans (Feb 2023 where it sold for £4,128 including buyer's commission)

 

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.  SOLD