News from Spink

English Civil War In Coinex Week Sale

September 27th 2007
Spink's Auction during Coinex Week

The complex and fascinating history of the English coinage during the troubled reign of Charles I and in particular during the period of the Civil War (1642-49) is well illustrated by the superb selection of coins in the 27 September auction, Spink’s auction during COINEX week, some from the Glenister collection, others from various properties.

To introduce the coinage of Charles I what could be better than a pattern for a Unite by Nicholas Briot? The example from the Glenister collection is an extremely rare silver pattern with the obverse legend reading HIB (lot 490). The Brooker collection had an example of this pattern in gold but not in silver, and there was no example in the Montagu, Murdoch or Selig collections.

The uncrowned bust on this coin is a brilliant life-like portrait of the king with slightly unkempt hair brushed back off his forehead, quite unlike anything used on the coinage and, perhaps because the king is uncrowned, looking more like a medal than a coin. The mint mark on the obverse is a simple rose, but on the reverse we have the initial B and also an elaborate small St George slaying the dragon. The lack of distracting detail on the obverse emphasizes the force of the portrait and makes one suspect that Briot placed the more decorative St George on the reverse precisely for this reason.

The main coinage of the pre Civil War years is well represented. There are three gold Unites, including one, mint mark bell, which is the rare variety with the reverse legend reading FLORENNT instead of FLORENT (lot 580). This coin with the error reading was in the Doubleday collection, but to demonstrate how rare this variety is, it should be noted that there was no example in the Brooker collection, nor is there one in the Schneider collection.

The Civil War coinage always arouses a great deal of interest. Here we have a splendid offering. From the busy mint at Oxford there is an extremely fine Triple Unite (lot 588) from the Bridgewater House collection (this interesting coin is discussed elsewhere in the new section), and a pair of silver Pounds, the largest silver coin struck for the royalist cause. One, dated 1642 (lot 589), is known as the ‘fine work’ and has been attributed to Thomas Rawlins. The other (lot 494) is the rare overdate, 1643 over 2. This example is from the Zeigler collection, purchased by Spink in 1947 and sold to Mr Glenister the same year.   

From the towns besieged by the Parliament forces there is a good selection. Newark is represented by a 1646 Halfcrown (lot 590) and a 1645 Shilling (lot 591) both from the J.B. Spurgin and Willis collections.

From Pontefract we have 1648 Shilling on a large lozenge shaped flan (lot 592) and a 1648 Shilling on an octagonal flan (lot 593). Both these are also from the Willis collection but the first comes via the J.C.S.Rashleigh collection in 1953 while the second comes via the E.W. Rashleigh collection in 1909. A good provenance for these curious siege pieces is always interesting.    

Other mints are also represented. From Bristol we have a very pleasing 1644 Halfcrown (lot 496) with an exceptional horseman with good clear features, and from Truro we have a Crown, m.m. rose (lot 498), a good round coin for this mint.

From Aberystwyth comes a neatly struck Groat, m.m. book (lot 493). Finally mention must be made of the 1646 Shilling from Bridgenorth-on-Severn (lot 497). These coins were previously thought to have been struck on Lundy, but are now known to have been struck at Bridgenorth, which held out against the Parliament forces until April 1646.

In 1649 the Commonwealth introduced a very different style coinage. This is also well represented in the auction, but here the story of the coinage in the name of England’s king ends, for now…

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Spink is the world’s leading auctioneer of coins, stamps, medals and banknotes.  Since its foundation in 1666, the Spink name has become synonymous with tradition, experience and integrity. Holders of three royal warrants and numerous records for prices achieved at auction, Spink offer an unparalleled range of services to collectors worldwide.  Spink is headquartered in London and hold over 35 auctions a year around the globe.  In June 2006 Spink shattered the world record for a British Coin sold at auction with the sale of the Double Leopard Gold Coin for a staggering £460,000.

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