England (1550-53) 1/2 sovereign Fr-187

Ponterio sale 176, lot 20085

Stack's Bowers 2022 NYINC sale, lot 1241

Sincona sale 75, lot 68

The first specimen was lot 20085 in Ponterio sale 176 (Chicago, August 2013), where it sold for $7,050. The catalog description^[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Edward VI, 1547-1553. Half Sovereign, ND (1550-53). Tun. Tower Mint. Crowned half-length king holding sword and orb. Rv. Crown shield flanked by ‘E’ and ‘R’. Third coinage Crown Issue. Mostly very well struck, with only a touch of softness noted at the orb and corresponding reverse position of the crown. The details on the armor portrait are exceptional. An excellent representative of this type. Very Fine Plus. Ex: Seaby, 1984, (private purchase at the ANA)." The second specimen was lot 1241 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $13,200. The catalog description^[2] noted,

"Rarely Available Edward VI Half Sovereign. GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Sovereign, ND (1551-53). London Mint; mm: tun. Edward VI. PCGS EF-45. Third period, crown gold issue. Obverse: Crowned and armored half-length bust right, holding sword and orb; Reverse: Coat-of-arms; crown above; E-R across field. Quite elegant and pleasing for the type, presenting only honest wear and a well centered strike on a flan without problems. Undoubtedly worthy of a strong bid from the advanced collector of medieval gold. Henry VIII’s only surviving legitimate son, he was forced to succeed the throne as a boy of 9. Edward’s uncle Edward Seymour ruled in the name of his nephew and several military conquests took place during his rule. The English Reformation continued under Edward VI with Edward being raised Protestant. Edward’s short reign ended at the age of 15 when he died of illness, meaning he was a king though never an adult. At the end of his life, fearful that his Catholic half-sister Mary would wear the crown, he dictated that his first cousin Lady Jane Grey would rule after him as a well-educated Protestant ruler. Despite this, only 9 days after his death, Mary deposed Lady Jane Grey and she was never coronated. Edward’s worst fears of a Catholic monarch were realized in the short but brutal reign of Mary. From the Paul C. Runze Collection (purchased from Davisson's)."

The third specimen was lot 68 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 5,750 CHF (about US$6,979 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[3] noted, "Grossbritannien | Königreich. Edward VI. 1547-1553. Half sovereign n. d. (1551-1553), Tower Mint. Third period. Mintmark tun. NGC AU Details. Feine Goldpatina. Kleines eingeritztes X auf der Rückseite. (Nice gold toning, Small graffito X on the reverse.)" This half sovereign was tariffed at ten shillings. This specimen is a product of the Tower mint in London.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: gold, 90 grains (5.82 g); the first specimen 85.4 grains, the third specimen 5.56 g.

Catalog reference: S-2451; North-1928; Fr-187.

Source:

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.
^[2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
^[3]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.

Link to:

England (1550-53) 1/2 sovereign Fr-187

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