St. James's Auctions
Auction 39 30 September 2016
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† George III, pattern crown, 1820, the 'Hercules Crown', struck in silver, by Droz, after Monneron's pattern by Dupré, Soho Mint, VIS VNITATE FORTIOR, Hercules seated r. on rock by column at the seashore, club and lion's skin beside him, endeavouring to break a bundle of sticks across his knee, date below, rev. DECVS ET TVTAMEN, crowned royal shield, plain edge (Bull 2057 [R5]; L&S.211), certified and graded by NGC as Proof 63, a choice specimen, only 5 to 10 known in silver
*ex Pellegrino collection
Long ago, this delightful pattern was considered to be a medal, not a crown, but in 1968 scholars Howard Linecar and Alex Stone included it, along with the more easily found piece struck in copper, in their reference book on English Proof and Pattern Crown-Size Pieces, and ever since then its status has not been questioned. It is a pattern, and particularly rare are the handful of pieces struck in the intended metal, silver. Aside from its unusual design, another reason this was possibly mistaken for a medal is the fact that it was made and dated in the year of King George III's death. He passed away at Windsor Castle on 29 January, his mind fogged by the blood disease porphyria which in its day was not understood, and accordingly he was said to be insane. Perhaps the intention behind causing this pattern to be made was to confirm the power of the royal family, which could be the reason for the obverse legend, translating from the Latin to mean 'strength is stronger through unity'. The reverse legend, translating as 'an ornament and a safeguard', is often found as the edge legend on a variety of coins, but here it may imply the unity of the monarchy, and indeed the 'legend edge' holds the royal coin together, literally. Thus, we see here a pattern suggesting a smooth transition from one king to the next, despite the 'madness' attributed to the elder. But this coin is also unique among pattern crowns because of the unusually artistic and wonderfully expressive design of its obverse, which depicts a muscular figure of the god Hercules seated against a broken column, struggling to break or stretch a bundle of sticks over his knee, with a club below, and before him we observe a sea bristling with ships; the date is boldly placed below in an especially large exergue with a garland supporting it. The design was inspired by a smaller sized pattern made in France circa 1791-92 by the firm of Monneron Frères, but no such commercial coin ever occurred as it was proscribed by French law of 1793, outlawing private patterns to be made into money. Jean-Pierre Droz, a Swiss engraver of dies for coins and of plates for paper currency, copied the concept of the original design by Augustin Dupré and engraved a set of dies that were used to strike this pattern for Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint, Birmingham. The bold image captures the sense of the famous god of strength as an enduring, ancient symbol of rebellion against human bondage, and it perfectly expresses the spirit of its time - the Romantic Age in England, when the public cheered Lord Byron daringly swimming the Hellespont, and waited breathlessly for each new poem of John Keats, celebrating the seemingly unlimited power of the English imagination. This famous and extremely rare pattern symbolises the quest for liberty in an age of tyranny, as none other does. (£30000-35000)
*ex Pellegrino collection
Long ago, this delightful pattern was considered to be a medal, not a crown, but in 1968 scholars Howard Linecar and Alex Stone included it, along with the more easily found piece struck in copper, in their reference book on English Proof and Pattern Crown-Size Pieces, and ever since then its status has not been questioned. It is a pattern, and particularly rare are the handful of pieces struck in the intended metal, silver. Aside from its unusual design, another reason this was possibly mistaken for a medal is the fact that it was made and dated in the year of King George III's death. He passed away at Windsor Castle on 29 January, his mind fogged by the blood disease porphyria which in its day was not understood, and accordingly he was said to be insane. Perhaps the intention behind causing this pattern to be made was to confirm the power of the royal family, which could be the reason for the obverse legend, translating from the Latin to mean 'strength is stronger through unity'. The reverse legend, translating as 'an ornament and a safeguard', is often found as the edge legend on a variety of coins, but here it may imply the unity of the monarchy, and indeed the 'legend edge' holds the royal coin together, literally. Thus, we see here a pattern suggesting a smooth transition from one king to the next, despite the 'madness' attributed to the elder. But this coin is also unique among pattern crowns because of the unusually artistic and wonderfully expressive design of its obverse, which depicts a muscular figure of the god Hercules seated against a broken column, struggling to break or stretch a bundle of sticks over his knee, with a club below, and before him we observe a sea bristling with ships; the date is boldly placed below in an especially large exergue with a garland supporting it. The design was inspired by a smaller sized pattern made in France circa 1791-92 by the firm of Monneron Frères, but no such commercial coin ever occurred as it was proscribed by French law of 1793, outlawing private patterns to be made into money. Jean-Pierre Droz, a Swiss engraver of dies for coins and of plates for paper currency, copied the concept of the original design by Augustin Dupré and engraved a set of dies that were used to strike this pattern for Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint, Birmingham. The bold image captures the sense of the famous god of strength as an enduring, ancient symbol of rebellion against human bondage, and it perfectly expresses the spirit of its time - the Romantic Age in England, when the public cheered Lord Byron daringly swimming the Hellespont, and waited breathlessly for each new poem of John Keats, celebrating the seemingly unlimited power of the English imagination. This famous and extremely rare pattern symbolises the quest for liberty in an age of tyranny, as none other does. (£30000-35000)