St. James's Auctions
Auction 39 30 September 2016
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James I, third coinage, rose ryal, mm. spur rowel (1619-1620), crowned figure of king enthroned facing, holding orb and sceptre, portcullis at feet, rev. long cross fourchée over shield of arms, mark of value XXX above, all within ornate border, wt. 12.57gms. (S.2632; N.2108; Schneider 77), good extremely fine with lustre, in all respects a splendid example of this rarity, boldly struck on both sides with exquisite detail both in the king's face and throughout the royal shield on the reverse, each letter of the legends crisp, the mintmark on each side showing its recessed circular centre, the flan broad and having nearly complete outer rims, surfaces truly choice and sheathed in a delightful golden tone, in all, a magnificent coin of the English Renaissance!
*ex R. E. Rodwell, Sotheby's, 27 November 1821
ex Lt. Col. Durant, Sotheby's, 19 April 1847, lot 559
ex T. Brown, Sotheby's, 26 July 1869, lot 515
ex S Addington
ex H. Montagu, Sotheby's, Part III, 13 November 1896, lot 138
ex C. A. Watters, Glendinings, 21 May 1917, lot 344
ex Spink Auction 97, 13 May 1993, lot 16
ex DNW Auction 55, 8 October 2002, lot 1169
At the Royal Mint during James's reign, the Third Coinage extended from 3 September 1619 until 27 March 1625. The gold content varied as per warrants. Gold alloyed to two purity levels was employed, that being .995 fine used for the rose-ryals, spur-ryals and angels out of necessity because they were commonly used for foreign trade, and on these coins, offering 'political' messages, the finest engraving was presented; for British homeland use, the unites and smaller denominations contained .917 fine gold. On the obverse of James I's coins the Latin legend MAG BRI and variants, standing for 'Great Britain', was introduced in 1604, replacing the traditional ANGL standing simply for 'the English'. This was a political statement as well as a portion of the king's official title. The reverse legend on this piece remained steadfastly religious in nature, the Latin (abbreviated) A DOMINO FACTUM EST ISTUD ET EST MIRABILE IN OCULIS NOSTRIS, translating to claim 'This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes' (Psalm 118: 23). The legend was first used on the fine sovereign of Mary Tudor and was generally reserved for use on large gold coins, here on a coin valued at issue at 30 shillings, which was a fortune in its day. While a considerable variety of types and denominations in gold appeared during this reign, a remarkable advancement in accounting also occurred at this time: never before had the details included in mint documents recorded exactly when each initial mark was used. On the presently offered coin, the initial (or mint) mark called the spur-rowel was used from the beginning of the Third period (3 September 1619) until 23 June 1620, after which a succession of four other mintmarks appeared on this denomination. These details allow us to know exactly when these coins were struck and in their exact die succession. Why this change came about remains a mystery, but King James himself is known to have taken a keen interest in scholarly matters, including overseeing publication of the famous King James Version of the Bible as well as inspecting seals and coins personally to give his approval, so perhaps it was he who caused this information to be recorded. One wonders if he actually touched or inspected this especially well-preserved 'royal' coin. It certainly never strayed into circulation, even though its intended use was for foreign trade. The roster of some of its famous former owners testifies to how special it is. Whatever miracle of survival was involved in saving it for us, it would be hard to imagine a much finer specimen or, indeed, a more regal coin! (£70000-80000)
*ex R. E. Rodwell, Sotheby's, 27 November 1821
ex Lt. Col. Durant, Sotheby's, 19 April 1847, lot 559
ex T. Brown, Sotheby's, 26 July 1869, lot 515
ex S Addington
ex H. Montagu, Sotheby's, Part III, 13 November 1896, lot 138
ex C. A. Watters, Glendinings, 21 May 1917, lot 344
ex Spink Auction 97, 13 May 1993, lot 16
ex DNW Auction 55, 8 October 2002, lot 1169
At the Royal Mint during James's reign, the Third Coinage extended from 3 September 1619 until 27 March 1625. The gold content varied as per warrants. Gold alloyed to two purity levels was employed, that being .995 fine used for the rose-ryals, spur-ryals and angels out of necessity because they were commonly used for foreign trade, and on these coins, offering 'political' messages, the finest engraving was presented; for British homeland use, the unites and smaller denominations contained .917 fine gold. On the obverse of James I's coins the Latin legend MAG BRI and variants, standing for 'Great Britain', was introduced in 1604, replacing the traditional ANGL standing simply for 'the English'. This was a political statement as well as a portion of the king's official title. The reverse legend on this piece remained steadfastly religious in nature, the Latin (abbreviated) A DOMINO FACTUM EST ISTUD ET EST MIRABILE IN OCULIS NOSTRIS, translating to claim 'This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes' (Psalm 118: 23). The legend was first used on the fine sovereign of Mary Tudor and was generally reserved for use on large gold coins, here on a coin valued at issue at 30 shillings, which was a fortune in its day. While a considerable variety of types and denominations in gold appeared during this reign, a remarkable advancement in accounting also occurred at this time: never before had the details included in mint documents recorded exactly when each initial mark was used. On the presently offered coin, the initial (or mint) mark called the spur-rowel was used from the beginning of the Third period (3 September 1619) until 23 June 1620, after which a succession of four other mintmarks appeared on this denomination. These details allow us to know exactly when these coins were struck and in their exact die succession. Why this change came about remains a mystery, but King James himself is known to have taken a keen interest in scholarly matters, including overseeing publication of the famous King James Version of the Bible as well as inspecting seals and coins personally to give his approval, so perhaps it was he who caused this information to be recorded. One wonders if he actually touched or inspected this especially well-preserved 'royal' coin. It certainly never strayed into circulation, even though its intended use was for foreign trade. The roster of some of its famous former owners testifies to how special it is. Whatever miracle of survival was involved in saving it for us, it would be hard to imagine a much finer specimen or, indeed, a more regal coin! (£70000-80000)