Isle of Man 1965 5 pounds
This specimen was lot 71265 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2021), where it sold for $2,400. The catalog description[1] noted, "ISLE OF MAN. 5 Pounds, 1965. Elizabeth II. NGC PROOF-67 Ultra Cameo. Highly popular as the first modern coinage issue from the Isle of Man, this large gold striking presents tremendous mirrored brilliance along with lightly frosted devices." The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and remains a British dependency. It is famous for motorcycle racing and tailless cats. Token coppers were issued for the island in the eighteenth century but large production did not commence until 1971. About 1980, the island fell under the domination of the Pobjoy Mint, which has minted and marketed dozens of NCLT commemoratives. This NCLT was also struck in 0.980 fine gold (KM 17a) and was accompanied by a half sovereign. Wikipedia comments,
"The Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3 c. 26), also known as the Act of Revestment, purchased the feudal rights of the Dukes of Atholl as Lords of Man over the Isle of Man, and revested them into the British Crown. The Act gave effect to an earlier contract between Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl, and the Government of the Kingdom of Great Britain, represented by HM Treasury, to sell the Atholls' feudal rights over the Island to Great Britain for a sum of £70,000. The authority to conclude a contract for the purchase was given under a private Act of Parliament in 1726, but as an Act of Parliament of 1609 had conferred the feudal rights over the island upon the Atholls, primary legislation was required to terminate those rights."
Recorded mintage: 500.
Specification: 39.94 g, 0.917 fine gold, AGW: 1.1775 oz.
Catalog reference: Fr-1; KM-17.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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, The October 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
Link to: