St. James's Auctions
Auction 35 9 February 2016
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BRITISH COINS, George II, half guinea, 1745, LIMA, intermediate laur. head l., rev. crowned shield of arms (S.3684; Schneider 602), a beautiful specimen, lustrous and evenly struck with a bold portrait and royal shield, only tiny abrasions in the soft nearly pure gold, in plastic holder, graded by PCGS as Mint State 61, exceedingly rare in this grade
A Lima guinea in extremely fine has just been sold for £31,200.
British coins marked with the bold capital letters LIMA are storied survivors of a grand moment in history. Reminiscent of the Vigo coins from Queen Anne's reign, these celebrated a much grander victory and a far larger treasure trove, taken on the high seas from the Spanish. The Vigo and Lima silver coins are of about equal scarcity, and many collectors own examples. The gold pieces are another story. Lustrous and choice-looking examples remain elusive and are collecting prizes.
The middle of the eighteenth century was the great era of sailing ships, and the end of privateering by buccaneers, whose piracy at sea reached its zenith a century earlier in the West Indies. By tradition, crews shared in captured prizes, adding incentive for crews to be included on any buccaneering mission. The spirit of those adventurers still resonated in the British Navy when Commodore George Anson set sail with a squadron of warships on 18 September 1740, hoping to locate and to attack Spanish galleons laden with silver and gold mined in South America. It was a voyage requiring much skill and great courage; and the commander of the squadron was ready for the challenge. Born in 1697, Anson was by 1740 an experienced navigator and captain, commissioned as a lieutenant in 1716 and having taken part in Admiral Byng's victory in August 1718 at Cape Passaro. He was promoted to commander in 1722, charged with capturing smugglers in the North Sea. By 1724, he had been promoted to post-captain in command of a frigate sailing off the coast of South Carolina to protect British ships from Spanish pirates, and from the end of 1737 until late 1739 his ships did similar duty off the west coast of Africa and in the West Indies.
As commodore, Anson set off from England in the autumn of 1740 with a squadron of eight ships manned by marines, charged with attacking the Spanish navy in the Pacific. Little did Anson realize that this was destined to be a voyage around the world that would become famed for its success. Anson's ships reached treacherous Cape Horn at the height of a terrible storm and most of the squadron was unsuccessful at clearing the cape into calmer seas. Two ships gave up and turned back for England. Others were wrecked. Only Anson's flag ship and two warships got through to the Pacific, with a loss of hundreds of crew. On the three ships remained just 335 sailors and marines, of the 961 original crews. But the long voyage was just beginning! Months later, Anson's force attacked and sacked the town of Paita in Peru, although the reward was small. Anson pressed onward, with the original goal firmly in mind despite all his setbacks. He aimed to attack the Spanish Manila-Acapulco fleet and capture its treasure. His crew was shrinking as disease took its toll on his men, and deprivation made two of the ships unseaworthy. All the crew was moved to his flagship, the Centurion, and they sailed west for the coast of China, arriving at Tinian by the end of summer 1742. They stayed ashore for months. Rested and restored, Anson's crew and warship finally steered for the Philippines. On 20 June 1743, they spotted the treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off Cape Espiritu Santo, engaged the largely unprotected Spanish ship, won the brief sea battle, and took possession of its treasure. To their disappointment, most of the Spanish treasure fleet had already sailed, but the Covadonga was no small prize. They discovered in its hold hundreds of thousands of pieces of eight and gold cobs mined and crudely minted at Lima, Peru.
They sailed for home around the Cape of Good Hope, but they and their prize were nearly captured by a French fleet in the English Channel before at last anchoring safely at Spithead on 15 June 1744. The tons of silver and gold were offloaded and carried by wagons along a parade route to the Mint in London. The total treasure was found to be nearly a million pounds in value, including proceeds from their sale of the Spanish galleon. Anson was cheered as a national hero and promoted to rear admiral. His share of the booty made him a wealthy man, but he continued to serve the Royal Navy, eventually being promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in 1761. He remained at sea in command of warships in 1746 and 1747, after which he oversaw naval reforms and advances in ship designs in the Admiralty Office. Numerous ships of the Royal Navy have been named after him but none has endured as a remembrance of his greatest victory for as long as the silver and gold coins marked LIMA in his honour by royal warrant. Many collectors worldwide own a silver coin made from this Spanish treasure but few are lucky enough to secure even one example of the Lima gold
with old tickets
Estimate: £10,000-15,000
A Lima guinea in extremely fine has just been sold for £31,200.
British coins marked with the bold capital letters LIMA are storied survivors of a grand moment in history. Reminiscent of the Vigo coins from Queen Anne's reign, these celebrated a much grander victory and a far larger treasure trove, taken on the high seas from the Spanish. The Vigo and Lima silver coins are of about equal scarcity, and many collectors own examples. The gold pieces are another story. Lustrous and choice-looking examples remain elusive and are collecting prizes.
The middle of the eighteenth century was the great era of sailing ships, and the end of privateering by buccaneers, whose piracy at sea reached its zenith a century earlier in the West Indies. By tradition, crews shared in captured prizes, adding incentive for crews to be included on any buccaneering mission. The spirit of those adventurers still resonated in the British Navy when Commodore George Anson set sail with a squadron of warships on 18 September 1740, hoping to locate and to attack Spanish galleons laden with silver and gold mined in South America. It was a voyage requiring much skill and great courage; and the commander of the squadron was ready for the challenge. Born in 1697, Anson was by 1740 an experienced navigator and captain, commissioned as a lieutenant in 1716 and having taken part in Admiral Byng's victory in August 1718 at Cape Passaro. He was promoted to commander in 1722, charged with capturing smugglers in the North Sea. By 1724, he had been promoted to post-captain in command of a frigate sailing off the coast of South Carolina to protect British ships from Spanish pirates, and from the end of 1737 until late 1739 his ships did similar duty off the west coast of Africa and in the West Indies.
As commodore, Anson set off from England in the autumn of 1740 with a squadron of eight ships manned by marines, charged with attacking the Spanish navy in the Pacific. Little did Anson realize that this was destined to be a voyage around the world that would become famed for its success. Anson's ships reached treacherous Cape Horn at the height of a terrible storm and most of the squadron was unsuccessful at clearing the cape into calmer seas. Two ships gave up and turned back for England. Others were wrecked. Only Anson's flag ship and two warships got through to the Pacific, with a loss of hundreds of crew. On the three ships remained just 335 sailors and marines, of the 961 original crews. But the long voyage was just beginning! Months later, Anson's force attacked and sacked the town of Paita in Peru, although the reward was small. Anson pressed onward, with the original goal firmly in mind despite all his setbacks. He aimed to attack the Spanish Manila-Acapulco fleet and capture its treasure. His crew was shrinking as disease took its toll on his men, and deprivation made two of the ships unseaworthy. All the crew was moved to his flagship, the Centurion, and they sailed west for the coast of China, arriving at Tinian by the end of summer 1742. They stayed ashore for months. Rested and restored, Anson's crew and warship finally steered for the Philippines. On 20 June 1743, they spotted the treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga off Cape Espiritu Santo, engaged the largely unprotected Spanish ship, won the brief sea battle, and took possession of its treasure. To their disappointment, most of the Spanish treasure fleet had already sailed, but the Covadonga was no small prize. They discovered in its hold hundreds of thousands of pieces of eight and gold cobs mined and crudely minted at Lima, Peru.
They sailed for home around the Cape of Good Hope, but they and their prize were nearly captured by a French fleet in the English Channel before at last anchoring safely at Spithead on 15 June 1744. The tons of silver and gold were offloaded and carried by wagons along a parade route to the Mint in London. The total treasure was found to be nearly a million pounds in value, including proceeds from their sale of the Spanish galleon. Anson was cheered as a national hero and promoted to rear admiral. His share of the booty made him a wealthy man, but he continued to serve the Royal Navy, eventually being promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in 1761. He remained at sea in command of warships in 1746 and 1747, after which he oversaw naval reforms and advances in ship designs in the Admiralty Office. Numerous ships of the Royal Navy have been named after him but none has endured as a remembrance of his greatest victory for as long as the silver and gold coins marked LIMA in his honour by royal warrant. Many collectors worldwide own a silver coin made from this Spanish treasure but few are lucky enough to secure even one example of the Lima gold
with old tickets
Estimate: £10,000-15,000