Great Britain (1620-21) 1/4 laurel Fr-244
This specimen was lot 31067 in Heritage sale 3073 (Chicago, April 2019), where it sold for $1,320. The catalog description[1] noted, "James I (1603-1625) gold 1/4 Laurel (1620-1621) MS62 NGC, Tower mint, Rose mm. A crisply struck example with an excellent laureate portrait of James, difficult to find for this type; the strike is slightly off-center but this has not led to a tremendous loss of edge legend. The planchet is deeply lustrous with hints of an orange tone, adding to the already-strong eye appeal of this Mint State gold fraction. From the Lake County 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 (Fr-243) and quarter laurel, all expensive. The "V" behind the king's head indicated five shillings.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 2.25 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 69, Fr-244, S-2642, N-2118.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3073, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
Link to: