Great Britain (1641-43) unite Fr-246
This specimen was lot 40122 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $5,040. The catalog description[1] noted, "Enchanting Mint State Unite of Charles I. GREAT BRITAIN. Unite (20 Shillings), ND (1641-43). London Mint; mm: Circumscribed Triangle. Charles I. NGC MS-62. Group F, class II. Obverse: Crowned and mantled bust left; XX (mark of value) to right; Reverse: Crowned and garnished oval coat-of-arms; crowned C-R across field. With respect to originality, one of the more elite examples of the type that one will encounter, with resounding brilliance evident throughout. Some striking weakness is observed, but this specimen offers a tremendous opportunity for a wondrous example from the years just before Parliament took over the mint in London." Charles' conflicts with Parliament and his subsequent inability to raise funds cramped the production of gold. This type, struck 1625-42, is called the fourth bust in the SCWC; Skingley[2] says this is the fifth bust. This issue is dated to 1641-43 by the triangle in circle mintmark.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 9 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 8.97 g.
Catalog reference: KM 153, S-2694; N-2154; Fr-246.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- [2]Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
Link to: