Watch List notes:

Edward VI, third period, 'fine' sovereign of 30 shillings, mm. ostrich head on both sides (1551), crowned figure of king enthroned facing, wearing robe and holding orb and sceptre, portcullis at feet, rev. shield of arms at centre of large Tudor rose in full bloom, wt. 15.37gms. (S.2446; N.1926 [ER]; Schneider 701 (same dies); Brooke, 'English Coins', pl.XXXVIII.2, this coin), very slight, hardly noticeable, double striking on the king's crown, good very fine on a lovely round flan having no cracks or damage, surrounding legends complete and mostly crisp in strike, portrait generally well struck and the rarely seen initial mark sharp on each side, choice surfaces for this grade and exhibiting most pleasing reddish gold toning, exceptionally rare and next to the Schneider specimen, the finest in private hands *ex British Museum duplicates ex R. D. Beresford-Jones, Spink Auction 29, 2 June 1983, lot 52 ex Sharps Pixley collection, Spink Auction 72, 9 November 1989, lot 17 ex Spink Auction 161, 14 November 2002, lot 117 ex Samuel King Collection of Highly Important Gold Coins, Spink, 5 May 2005, lot 37 Sir Edmund Pekham was high treasurer of all the mint establishments from 1544 and his personal crest was an ostrich head. It was probably from bullion supplied by Pekham that the very small fine gold issues of 1551 were minted at the Tower. It has been proven beyond doubt that this small issue was not minted at Southwark as previously thought, because that mint was closed by January 1551 and the commission for this issue was not signed until 5th October 1551. Edward VI concerned himself personally with mint affairs during the last years of his reign. He was a highly intelligent 14 year old by the time this fine issue was being prepared and among his Domestic State Papers is correspondence to Sir Edmund Pekham dated 25th September 1551 and this letter details instructions from the King and Privy Council to begin the new coinage in fine silver (11 oz 1 dwt) and two standards of gold (23ct 3.5 gr and 22ct). This fine gold 30/- sovereign was minted at the high standard of 23ct 3.5gr (or .995). The design for this splendid coin was undoubtedly the work of Derick Anthony who was appointed to the office of graver at the Tower from Michaelmas 1551, together with his deputy John Lawrence. Very few examples are available in commerce and this is undoubtedly the best to be offered. Not only is this a delightful example of a rarely seen coin but it also represents an important change in the quality of gold struck towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII's only son, whose sad demise at an early age is so well known. Many collectors may not realize, however, that this coin from this minting period of the reign represents the third stage of a gradual recovery in the quality of gold coinage following its decimation under King Henry VIII. Widespread confidence in the money had occurred in the late 1540s, but steadily the fineness of gold coin improved, from 20 carats in the first period to 22 carats in the second and, finally, to 23 carats 3.5 grains in the third period. Hence the name 'fine' in this case, as the gold content was nearly pure, just enough alloy in it to harden it for use. The distinctions of weight and fineness of the precious metals making English coins at this period held considerable merit in the minds of the mint's officials. Today these seem of scant importance, given the nature of money today, mostly fiat paper substituting for intrinsically valued coin. Challis (A New History of the Royal Mint) reminds us that in the 16th century there was, in fact, no unanimous 'standard' of what constituted sterling in the case of silver, and gold being the royal money meant that its quality was much on the minds of officials. The mint's master-worker or warden, Richard Martin, became embroiled in a long-standing dispute with Thomas Keeling, assay master of the London Company of Goldsmiths, over what precisely constituted sterling silver. Only 2 dwt variance was at issue, Keeling pressing for a higher quality. In 1551, King Edward and his officials at the mint described sterling as being a bit lighter than both assayers had pressed for; nonetheless, the silver quality improved from that used by Edward's father, and by his reign's end it came within one dwt of its ancient standard of purity. Under Elizabeth I, it was finally restored completely; the time frame of several decades demonstrates the importance given to money of 'fine quality'. Edward's final gold issue, then, this splendidly symbolic 'fine sovereign' representing the buying power of 30 sterling shillings, remains not only an important numismatic 'type' for collectors, but it is also emblematic of the development towards what the modern gold sovereign, struck from 1817 onwards, represented - real money, of a strictly controlled intrinsic value and therefore universally accepted around the world. It would underscore the power and influence of an empire. (£150,000-200,000)