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Auction: 22004 - The Jean-Marie Vanmeerbeeck and Simon English Esq. Collections of English Hammered and Milled Coins
Lot: 54

Charles II (1660-1685), Third Hammered Issue, Halfcrown, 1660-1662, crowned bust left, value behind, rev. square-topped shield over cross moline, 14.88g, 10h, m.m. crown (Bull 302; ESC 456; North 2761; Spink 3321), softly struck to portrait, otherwise fine / good fine as issued, with an interesting hoard provenance and an intriguing late 19th Century dealer's ticket reused from a Queen Anne 1706 Five Guineas

Provenance
Frederick John Helmore, Auctioneer of Crediton Town Hall (Devon), Saturday 22 May 1897, lots 1-115
Crediton Church Hoard, 15 October 1896



On Thursday afternoon WIlliam Body, in the employ of Mr. W B Berry, who is carrying out alterations, was digging down the ceiling close to a large beam, when his hammer struck something. Body put his hand over the beam to ascertain what it was, and pulled out a large leather bag. A number of coins fell out of it. Boddy immediately gave information of the discovery. The coins about the room were collected and placed in the bag with the rest, and removed to the vestry below, and the vicar (Prebendary Smith) was sent for. The bag was found to contain many hundreds of silver coins, the dates of some being as far back as 1472 and various dates up to nearly 1700. The coins consist of sixpences, shillings, florins and crowns [sic], large numbers of which are in an excellent state of preservation ; some of the crowns are in almost perfect condition. The coins were handed over by the vicar to the chaplain (Rev. E. Knight), who immediately deposited them at the Devon and Cornwall Bank. The coins found weighed over 20lbs. and the number is estimated at nearly a thousand. Later on, Mr. Berry made another search of the room, and amongst the debris 52 more coins were picked up, many being considered of great value. (West Somerset Free Press, 17 October 1896, refers.)


H A Grueber, in documenting the find for the Numismatic Chronicle in 1897 (pp. 159-172), made several important observations. The first being at least 1,884 coins were recovered from the vestry, of which only 16 were Hammered Halfcrowns of Charles II. Critically all of this issue are worn, suggesting the trove must have been amassed in a private capacity from around 1665 until final deposition shortly after 1683. Around 120 coins were retained by the British Museum with some 1,700 returned to the finders. In May 1897 it was elected that the coins should be offered at public auction and be catalogued by Major Montague.

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Sold for
£400

Starting price
£120