Watch List notes:

Edward VI, third period (1550-1553), sovereign of 20 shillings, mm. tun both sides, half-length crowned portrait of king r., holding orb and shouldering sword, rev. crowned shield of arms with lion and griffin supporters, ER in cartouche below, wt. 10.36gms. (S.2450; N.1927 [VR]; Schneider 692), very fine, well-defined portrait, legends complete and sharp with unusually bold detail on the tuns, struck on a full flan, only slightly wavy and of good metal, pleasing surfaces for the grade, very rare As Edward's brief reign progressed, the fineness of his gold and silver coinage slowly recovered from the debased state seen at the end of his father Henry's monarchy, and during the third and last period, commencing in 1550, gold was struck of two qualities, so-called Tower gold of 22 ct. and the nearly pure so-called Fine gold of 23 ct. 3.5 grains. All half-length portrait sovereigns of this style were struck in 22 ct. gold. Today, the half-sovereign appears with some regularity, albeit it is very scarce, but the full sovereign is a rarity; no records survive to prove how many were struck (Schneider, Vol 1, page 64). The tun initial mark represents output overseen by Thomas Egerton, Under-Treasurer at the mint. Tun-marked coinage was issued from 25 March 1552 until 25 December 1555, suggesting that this coin was created towards the end of issuance. This unusual image of the boy king appeared only on the sovereigns and half-sovereigns of this period; interestingly, Peter Woodhead (Schneider, Vol. 1, page 61) suggests that this new design, together with its re-introduction of Gothic-style lettering, may have been intended to underscore the mint's return to the 'good old standards' of intrinsic fineness. Within months, or perhaps as long as a year, of the moment this coin was minted, Edward would pass away and his elder sister, Mary Tudor, would gain his throne, at which point the Royal Mint brought all gold money back to its traditional fineness. King Edward's royal accomplishments may have been few, but his mint-masters (at his own prompting, it has been suggested) regained trust in English money both at home and abroad, helping to set the stage for the expansion of English influence which Edward's half-sister Elizabeth would set in motion.

Estimate: £10,000-15,000