England (1492-93) sovereign Fr-149
This specimen was lot 20047 in Ponterio sale 176 (Chicago, August 2013), where it sold for $499,375. The catalog description[1] noted,
"GREAT BRITAIN. Henry VII, 1485-1509. Sovereign, ND (1492-93). Type I. Cross Fitchee. Inspiring Quartet of Henry VII Fine Sovereigns Nearly a Complete Type Set Extremely Rare and Choice Early Type I Sovereign Seated king, larger head than other types, on throne with lower back, holding orb and scepter. Intricate pattern of lis in the background. Rv. Royal shield within large Tudor rose. Extremely rare. The first of four Fine Sovereigns from the first Tudor monarch cataloged here; this is an exceptional occurrence in an American auction, or any auction for that matter. The legendary Montagu sales had only (only!) two different Henry VII class Sovereigns. A very attractive key type. With uniformly bright surfaces, the coin is very well struck and boasts superb details. The legends are short in only a few places along the periphery, but not so much as to impair the overall breathtaking attractiveness of this historic first Sovereign issue. This is among the most important examples in this epic offering of British gold coinage. Very Fine Plus. Ex: Spink, 1983.
Sovereigns were first issued under this Tudor monarch and were minted in nearly pure gold to a 240 grain standard. The style of the monarch seated upon the throne carried forward for over a century. Amazingly, the Law Collection contains four of the five types from this monarch. Missing is the Type II (actually the first, Cinquefoil, type as enumerated in Woodhead-Schneider sylloge) which is exceedingly rare and was even missing from the Montagu collection. The quartet here is truly an historic American offering which will probably not be duplicated in the near future, if ever at all."
The 240 grain standard was selected as double the rose noble of 120 grains and triple the gold angel of 80 grains.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, 240 grains (15.54 g); this specimen 235.6 grains.
Catalog reference: S-2172; North-1689; Fr-149; similar to Schneider 548.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, and Bruce Roland Hagen, Ponterio sale 176: The Thos. H. Law Collection of English Gold Coins, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers, LLC, 2013.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
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