Great Britain 1651 half crown
This specimen was lot 33098 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $3,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Commonwealth. 1/2 Crown, 1651. London Mint; mm: Sun/-. PCGS MS-62. Obverse: St. George's shield within wreath composed of laurel branch and palm frond; Reverse: Two shield bearing St. George's cross (England) and harp (Ireland). A RARE denomination as a whole in Mint State preservation, and the only example of this particular date to have attained this status at either PCGS or NGC. Deeply original and elegantly toned, with underlying luster and only a touch of cabinet friction present over the high points. From the Richard August Collection." By 1650, king Charles was dead and his son fled into exile but Cromwell was unable to bring unity to England. This type was struck 1649-56 and features English legends, a first for English coinage. The "·II·VI·" indicates two shillings and sixpence.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 15.05 g, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: S-3215; N-2722; ESC-17; KM-391.1.
- 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.
- Rayner, P. Alan, and Maurice Bull, English Silver Coinage from 1649, 6th Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2015.
- 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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