St. James's Auctions
Auction 39 30 September 2016
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† Anne, half guinea, 1703, VIGO, dr. bust l., VIGO below, rev. crowned cruciform shields, sceptres in angles (S.3565), certified and graded by NGC as About Uncirculated 55, lustre remaining, well centred and sharply struck overall with a most pleasing portrait and excellent details within the royal shield, very rare
*ex Sharps Pixley Collection, Spink Auction 72, 9 November 1989, lot 60
Thought to be the only example graded this highly by NGC or PCGS.
Numismatic historian Challis states that the Royal Mint had a dire need for specie at the beginning of the 18th century (A New History of the Royal Mint, page 433), and that the 'most spectacular of these windfalls' occurred almost by happenstance just as Anne became queen. The year 1702 marked the beginning of the War of Spanish Succession. It was a contest for dominance between two sets of allies, England and the Dutch Republic against France and Bourbon Spain. Old enemies they surely were. The action commenced when a fleet of Anglo-Dutch warships attempted to seize Cadiz in mid-September 1702, but failure ensued. The commander of the fleet, Admiral Sir George Rooke, had turned in disgust to begin his homeward journey when he was informed by spies that a Spanish treasure fleet had recently anchored at Vigo Bay on the northwest shore of Spain. He turned about quickly. What was at hand, he had learned, was an armada of Spanish ships carrying gold and silver mined in colonial Mexico. He was informed that the fleet had sailed from Veracruz protected by a French squadron of fifteen warships, and that three galleons were loaded with silver and gold. Frigates and support ships added up to a daunting fleet of 56 vessels, many carrying merchandise intended for sale in Spain, and all were moored in Vigo Bay. Eager for booty, Rooke attacked! A furious naval battle was fought on 23 October and the victory this time was England's despite a forbidding boom consisting of heavy chain and timber that stretched across the entrance to the bay, and a battery of cannons, meant to block and defeat any attack. But the Dutch and English men o' war crashed through the boom. To stall the advance, the Spanish set afire a ship alongside the Dutch admiral's flagship, intending to burn the Dutch ship, but the Spanish ship was loaded with snuff from the Indies and it blew up! The Spaniards' guns were quickly silenced, the boom was broken through, and the Anglo-Dutch warships sailed right into the heart of the harbour, destroying most of the enemy's ships and capturing the others. It was a tremendous victory! In a day and a half, the Battle of Vigo Bay had been won, and the booty was up for grabs. Instantly, jubilation reigned, but then the English discovered to their horror that most of the treasure from the New World mines had been unloaded before they arrived at Vigo. Still, winning the battle was of great moment in the war and what remained of the specie was taken and delivered to the Royal Mint. It did not consist of Mexican silver specie but rather it amounted mostly to 4,500 pounds of silver that had been ornaments and 'plate' belonging to the Spanish and French officers. Of gold there was just 7 pounds 8 ounces (Challis, A New History of the Royal Mint, page 433), and this was the source of all British gold coins given the boasting hallmark VIGO. Humorously, the Spanish king, Phillip V, issued a decree claiming ownership of the precious metals. Queen Anne's response was to issue a royal warrant, dated 10 February 1703, instructing Mintmaster Isaac Newton to hallmark all coins made from captured bullion so as to 'Continue to Posterity the Remembrance of that Glorious Action' at Vigo Bay. What a triumph it was for England, and what wonderful mementoes were created, each proclaiming the naval victory! (£40000-50000)
*ex Sharps Pixley Collection, Spink Auction 72, 9 November 1989, lot 60
Thought to be the only example graded this highly by NGC or PCGS.
Numismatic historian Challis states that the Royal Mint had a dire need for specie at the beginning of the 18th century (A New History of the Royal Mint, page 433), and that the 'most spectacular of these windfalls' occurred almost by happenstance just as Anne became queen. The year 1702 marked the beginning of the War of Spanish Succession. It was a contest for dominance between two sets of allies, England and the Dutch Republic against France and Bourbon Spain. Old enemies they surely were. The action commenced when a fleet of Anglo-Dutch warships attempted to seize Cadiz in mid-September 1702, but failure ensued. The commander of the fleet, Admiral Sir George Rooke, had turned in disgust to begin his homeward journey when he was informed by spies that a Spanish treasure fleet had recently anchored at Vigo Bay on the northwest shore of Spain. He turned about quickly. What was at hand, he had learned, was an armada of Spanish ships carrying gold and silver mined in colonial Mexico. He was informed that the fleet had sailed from Veracruz protected by a French squadron of fifteen warships, and that three galleons were loaded with silver and gold. Frigates and support ships added up to a daunting fleet of 56 vessels, many carrying merchandise intended for sale in Spain, and all were moored in Vigo Bay. Eager for booty, Rooke attacked! A furious naval battle was fought on 23 October and the victory this time was England's despite a forbidding boom consisting of heavy chain and timber that stretched across the entrance to the bay, and a battery of cannons, meant to block and defeat any attack. But the Dutch and English men o' war crashed through the boom. To stall the advance, the Spanish set afire a ship alongside the Dutch admiral's flagship, intending to burn the Dutch ship, but the Spanish ship was loaded with snuff from the Indies and it blew up! The Spaniards' guns were quickly silenced, the boom was broken through, and the Anglo-Dutch warships sailed right into the heart of the harbour, destroying most of the enemy's ships and capturing the others. It was a tremendous victory! In a day and a half, the Battle of Vigo Bay had been won, and the booty was up for grabs. Instantly, jubilation reigned, but then the English discovered to their horror that most of the treasure from the New World mines had been unloaded before they arrived at Vigo. Still, winning the battle was of great moment in the war and what remained of the specie was taken and delivered to the Royal Mint. It did not consist of Mexican silver specie but rather it amounted mostly to 4,500 pounds of silver that had been ornaments and 'plate' belonging to the Spanish and French officers. Of gold there was just 7 pounds 8 ounces (Challis, A New History of the Royal Mint, page 433), and this was the source of all British gold coins given the boasting hallmark VIGO. Humorously, the Spanish king, Phillip V, issued a decree claiming ownership of the precious metals. Queen Anne's response was to issue a royal warrant, dated 10 February 1703, instructing Mintmaster Isaac Newton to hallmark all coins made from captured bullion so as to 'Continue to Posterity the Remembrance of that Glorious Action' at Vigo Bay. What a triumph it was for England, and what wonderful mementoes were created, each proclaiming the naval victory! (£40000-50000)