Great Britain (1613) 1/2 laurel Fr-243
This specimen was lot 32040 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2022), where it sold for $2,400. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Laurel, ND (1613). London Mint; mm: trefoil. James I. NGC AU-50. Third coinage, first bust. Obverse: Laureate, draped, and armored bust left; X (mark of value) to right; Reverse: Square-topped coat-of-arms over long cross fourchee; crown above. Not displaying much in the way of handling, but with some scattered marks noted for completeness on the portrait, this fraction issue exudes charm and solid brilliance remaining. From the Augustana Collection." James I, who united England and Scotland, invented the term Great Britain. The laurel coinage of the second half of his reign comes in one (Fr-242), half (shown here) and quarter laurel (Fr-244), all expensive. The half laurel was ten shillings.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.5 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: S-2641A; Fr-243; N-2117.
- 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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, The 2022 ANA Auction - Ancients & World Coins - Featuring The Salton Collection Part III, the Augustana Collection and the Robert C. Knepper Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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