Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3061 7-8 Jan 2018
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Great Britain
Victoria silver Proof Pattern "Gothic" Crown 1846 PR62 NGC, Royal mint, cf. S-3883, L&S-56, ESC-2663. Plain edge. By W. Wyon. A monumental offering of this extremely rare pattern crown, struck the year prior to the standard issue of 1847, and varying only slightly in the composition of its design. Other than the obvious earlier Roman Numeral date, the only major discernable difference was Wyon's treatment of Victoria's clothing. On the pattern as well as the standard issue, her clothing displays the same fringe ornamentation with intricate cruciform motifs inside linked circles and string of beadwork accents at the edges. On the adopted design however, Wyon opted to continue the clothing's design, engraving a series of double-lined diamonds, with symbolic roses (England), thistles (Scotland) and clovers (Ireland) at their centers. On this pattern however, Victoria's sleeve is without pattern, making for a subtle, but substantial variation. Despite their variation, both types certainly qualify as master-works, with their technical quality being nothing short of sublime.
To our knowledge, this example is the only one to have been offered at auction in over 20 years. Of the two varieties encountered, this specimen possesses uniform surfaces, with no signs of frost over the design. As one might expect from such an artistic work, it was obviously accomplished with painstaking care, as the surfaces displays full and breathing sharpness over the design, with edges that seem to sit higher, and appear sharper squared than those of the following year. Lightly handled long in the past, this crown displays a tiny instances of contact here and there, and a few hairlines in the fields, but deep rainbow-hued tone from decades of cabinet storage help to unify the appearance. Altogether, a great coin, and considering how ubiquitous the regular issue has become, often referred to as "the most beautiful coin ever", it's hard to underestimate the magnitude of this offering which started it all. We wish luck to those who attempt to acquire this absolute numismatic treasure.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 40000-60000 USD
Victoria silver Proof Pattern "Gothic" Crown 1846 PR62 NGC, Royal mint, cf. S-3883, L&S-56, ESC-2663. Plain edge. By W. Wyon. A monumental offering of this extremely rare pattern crown, struck the year prior to the standard issue of 1847, and varying only slightly in the composition of its design. Other than the obvious earlier Roman Numeral date, the only major discernable difference was Wyon's treatment of Victoria's clothing. On the pattern as well as the standard issue, her clothing displays the same fringe ornamentation with intricate cruciform motifs inside linked circles and string of beadwork accents at the edges. On the adopted design however, Wyon opted to continue the clothing's design, engraving a series of double-lined diamonds, with symbolic roses (England), thistles (Scotland) and clovers (Ireland) at their centers. On this pattern however, Victoria's sleeve is without pattern, making for a subtle, but substantial variation. Despite their variation, both types certainly qualify as master-works, with their technical quality being nothing short of sublime.
To our knowledge, this example is the only one to have been offered at auction in over 20 years. Of the two varieties encountered, this specimen possesses uniform surfaces, with no signs of frost over the design. As one might expect from such an artistic work, it was obviously accomplished with painstaking care, as the surfaces displays full and breathing sharpness over the design, with edges that seem to sit higher, and appear sharper squared than those of the following year. Lightly handled long in the past, this crown displays a tiny instances of contact here and there, and a few hairlines in the fields, but deep rainbow-hued tone from decades of cabinet storage help to unify the appearance. Altogether, a great coin, and considering how ubiquitous the regular issue has become, often referred to as "the most beautiful coin ever", it's hard to underestimate the magnitude of this offering which started it all. We wish luck to those who attempt to acquire this absolute numismatic treasure.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 40000-60000 USD