Great Britain (1616-17) 1/2 crown Fr-237

Sincona sale 79, lot 1099

This specimen was lot 1099 in Sincona sale 79 (Zurich, October 2022), where it sold for 475 CHF (about US$569 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, James I. 1603-1625. Gold 1/2 crown n. d. (1616-1617), Tower Mint. Second coinage. Fifth bust. Mintmark book on lantern. NGC XF45. Flan crack." This gold half crown of James' second issue was accompanied by a rose ryal (Fr-230), angel, unite (Fr-234), spur ryal (Fr-231), double crown (Fr-235), half angel (Fr-233) and crown (Fr-236). With the accession of James I we drop "England" as the country name and adopt the current "Great Britain." He was the last monarch to mint this denomination in gold.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 1.125 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen is 1.21 g.

Catalog reference: KM 32, Spink 2631, Schneider coll. II, 76 var, Fr-237.

Source:

• 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]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 79, British Collection, Part 3, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2022.

Link to:

• (1615-16) gold half crown, tun mintmark
• (1615-16) Britain crown
• (1616-17) Britain crown
• (1616-17) angel
• (1616-17) tuppence (halfgroat), book mintmark
• (1617-18) thistle crown
• (1617-18) unite, crescent mintmark
• (1618-19) double crown
• Coins and currency dated 1616