England (1582-84)-A sovereign Fr-209
This specimen was lot 33038 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $19,200. The catalog description[1] noted, "Appealing Nearly-Mint Sovereign, GREAT BRITAIN. Sovereign, ND (1582-84). London Mint; mm: A. Elizabeth I. NGC AU Details--Cleaned. Sixth issue. Obverse: Elizabeth, holding lis-tipped scepter and orb, seated facing on ornate Gothic throne; all within tressure of arches; portcullis with chains below; Reverse: Coat-of-arms at center of Tudor rose. An impressive example of this broad gold denomination; despite the noted wiping over the central areas of the design, the strike is simply superb for the type. The legends are bold and fully legible with no areas of even slight weakness, the whole of the throne, tressure, and portcullis is razor-sharp, and the Queen's face is rendered in exquisite and expressive detail. A piece that speaks beyond its technical preservation." Both Friedberg and Lobel list this coin as a fifth issue and the only sovereign (thirty shillings) of the reign.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, 15.55 g (240 grains), this specimen 15.37 g.
Catalog reference: S-2529; Fr-209; N-2003.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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