Great Britain 1643-BR half crown
This specimen was lot 33076 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $3,120. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Crown, 1643-BR. Bristol Mint; mm: Acorn. Charles I. PCGS AU-55. VERY SCARCE as an emission of this mint in this state of preservation, and quite handsome to boot. The surfaces are glossy and deeply toned, with some color evident in the recessed areas of the reverse, and the horse and rider are decently detailed in spite of mild double striking. Includes old collector tags. Ex: R. Carlyon-Britton. Sold by Spink & Son in 1945." Charles' conflicts with Parliament erupted into open war in 1642. One of Parliament's first acts after Charles fled London was to seize the Tower Mint. In response, Charles opened branch mints to provide coin to pay his forces. Some of the mints were shortlived, as an army stopped for a few weeks to reequip, but Oxford, Shrewsbury and Bristol operated for several years. Bristol produced half crowns (shown here), shillings, sixpence, groats and threepence. Her mintmark was a "BR" monogram.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 15.05 g, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: S-3006; N-2488; Morrieson-C-10; Brooker-973/4; KM-214.19.
- 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, 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.
Link to:
- (1641-43) half crown
- (1643-44) tuppence (halfgroat), (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- (1643-44) threepence, leopard mintmark, York mint
- 1643 sixpence, Oxford mint
- 1643 shilling, Oxford mint
- (1643-44) shilling, (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- (1643-44) sixpence, leopard mintmark, York mint
- (1643-44) shilling, leopard mintmark, York mint
- (1643-44) half crown, (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- 1643 halfcrown, Oxford mint
- 1643 half crown, York mint
- (1643-44) gold crown, (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- (1643-46) silver crown, Exeter mint, rose mintmark
- 1643 half pound, Oxford mint
- 1643 double crown, Oxford mint
- (1643-44) double crown, (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- (1643-44) unite, (P) mintmark, Tower mint
- 1643 unite, Oxford mint
- 1643 triple unite, Oxford mint
- 1644 sixpence, Bristol mint
- 1644-BR shilling, Bristol mint
- 1644-BR half crown, Bristol mint
- (1644-45) half crown, Exeter mint
- (1644-45) halfcrown, (R) mintmark, Tower mint
- (1644)-CHST half crown, Chester mint
- (1644-45) half crown, roses in legend, Worcester mint
- 1644 crown, Exeter mint
- 1644 "Rawlins’" crown, Oxford mint
- 1644 pound, Oxford mint
- Coins and currency dated 1643