Great Britain 1653 half crown
This specimen was lot 32050 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2022), where it sold for $1,320. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Commonwealth. 1/2 Crown, 1653. London Mint; mm: sun/-. PCGS AU-53. Obverse: St. George's shield within wreath composed of laurel branch and palm frond; Reverse: Two shield[s] bearing St. George's cross (England) and harp (Ireland). Despite some striking weakness, this wholesome and pleasingly toned example stands virtually without handling and even retains some shimmering hints of minty brilliance in the protected areas. From the Augustana Collection. Ex: Rye Collection. Ex: Coin Galleries (11/1991) Lot # 1758." By 1652, king Charles was dead and his son fled into exile but Cromwell was unable to bring unity to England. The gold coins of his rule (unite, double crown and crown) are all rare. The silver coinage is generally more available but often badly made. This half crown is listed with the sun mint mark for 1649-56 and the anchor mint mark for 1658-60. Portrait half crowns also exist. Overdates 1653/1 and 1653/2 are reported but awarded no premium.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 15.05 g, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: S-3215; N-2722; 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, 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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