Watch List notes:

Charles I, milled coinage, unite of 20 shillings, by Nicholas Briot, mm. flower and B/B (1631-1632), crowned bust l., rev. crowned shield of arms, wt. 9.06gms. (S.2719; N.2294; Schneider 273, same dies), ancient faint scratch in front of the king's eye, otherwise about extremely fine on an almost perfect flan, excellent portrait, sharply detailed crowned shield, crisp legends as expected for this type, surfaces toned a lovely golden red colour, very rare *ex Künker 117, 28 September 2006, lot 5256 ex CNG 312, 9 October 2013, lot 33 A most attractive example of Nicholas Briot's first milled coinage featuring the daisy mintmark and his initial. As a Frenchman formerly associated with the mint at Paris who produced an entirely new and boldly engraved coinage made on his own machinery, his rejection by minters of traditional hammered coins is understandable, yet while his troubles are long over, his magnificent coins remain as testaments to the coming of a new age at the Royal Mint. Milled, or machine-made, coins were just around the corner, and Charles's kingdom remained still firmly his during the early 1630s. J. J. North calls Briot 'a great artist' and notes that his initial success in London caused him also to engrave dies for the York Mint, and those coins clearly indicate a departure from traditional minting techniques as well. The king's personal interest in the fine arts is well known, and as Peter Woodhead relates (Schneider, Vol. 2, page 12) Briot obtained Charles's patronage in 1625/26 to engrave the royal effigy and was given funds to operate his milling shop inside the Tower Mint during two periods, those of 1631-32 and 1638-39. The coins are differentiated by their initial marks. The king so approved of his work that he was appointed as a mint engraver in 1634; it is coins such as the specimen in this lot that so prompted the king's approval. But the coins produced by Briot also boasted superb fineness of metal quality, which was of considerable importance to the mint's officials at this period leading up to the Civil War. Challis tells us (page 301, A New History of the Royal Mint) that 'Briot was installed in the house in the Tower belonging to the warden' and that he melted his own ingots so as to assure the fineness of his beautiful coinage, lending it endurance both as a royal symbol and as money.

Estimate: £15,000-20,000