Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 23 28 Sep 2018
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British Coins, Edward VI, fine silver issue, crown, mm. y, 1551, crowned figure of king in full armour on horseback r., shouldering sword, date below, rev. long cross fourchée over shield of arms (S.2478; N.1933), extremely fine, struck on an especially broad flan, sharply detailed particularly on obverse, the choice surfaces toned a rich silvery russet grey, seldom found so pleasing and as such very rare
Four hundred years after this historic coin was minted, the Royal Mint, during the reign of King George VI, prepared a special crown for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The coins were struck at the event itself and were so popular that they sold out during the festival. It is doubtful if most of the fair-goers had ever seen a 1551 crown even if they realized that they were purchasing a commemorative made to memorialize it. Of its history they probably knew next to nothing. The silver crown dated 1551 was in fact the first crown of 5 shillings' value ever struck in England and evidently the overall mintage was fairly small, judging by the number of survivors. The largest silver coin of its day, it was part of the final silver issue, finally restored to the old standard quality after years of debasement of the silver money under Henry VIII and his son's first few years as monarch. Edward of course was the much-hoped-for son of Henry, by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who herself died while giving birth to him in October 1537. The kingdom was nearly torn apart waiting for his birth, but he could hardly have known. The boy grew up pale and sickly in the shadow of his father. He became king of England at the age of nine and was much under the control of covetous counsellors who sought to create a regency with themselves the dominant masters. While they might have thought they controlled a fool, in truth Edward was anything but. While his uncle, the Earl of Hertford, persuaded the king's Council to declare him to be Protector of the Realm (whereupon he declared himself Duke of Somerset), seeking to weaken the Crown's authority and preparing to take it away from Edward, the 'little waif' bided his time, watched as his Council made poor decisions, and saw Somerset err in handling the Scots. He must have smiled, at least inwardly. By the autumn of 1551, Somerset and his cohorts fell from grace, were tried and judged treasonous; it was a capital offence. In January 1552, Edward coolly recorded in his diary of the man who had tried to seize his kingdom: 'Today the Duke of Somerset had his head cut off on Tower Hill.' Clearly little Edward had inherited his father's genes.
Estimate: 15000-20000 GBP
Four hundred years after this historic coin was minted, the Royal Mint, during the reign of King George VI, prepared a special crown for the Festival of Britain in 1951. The coins were struck at the event itself and were so popular that they sold out during the festival. It is doubtful if most of the fair-goers had ever seen a 1551 crown even if they realized that they were purchasing a commemorative made to memorialize it. Of its history they probably knew next to nothing. The silver crown dated 1551 was in fact the first crown of 5 shillings' value ever struck in England and evidently the overall mintage was fairly small, judging by the number of survivors. The largest silver coin of its day, it was part of the final silver issue, finally restored to the old standard quality after years of debasement of the silver money under Henry VIII and his son's first few years as monarch. Edward of course was the much-hoped-for son of Henry, by his third wife, Jane Seymour, who herself died while giving birth to him in October 1537. The kingdom was nearly torn apart waiting for his birth, but he could hardly have known. The boy grew up pale and sickly in the shadow of his father. He became king of England at the age of nine and was much under the control of covetous counsellors who sought to create a regency with themselves the dominant masters. While they might have thought they controlled a fool, in truth Edward was anything but. While his uncle, the Earl of Hertford, persuaded the king's Council to declare him to be Protector of the Realm (whereupon he declared himself Duke of Somerset), seeking to weaken the Crown's authority and preparing to take it away from Edward, the 'little waif' bided his time, watched as his Council made poor decisions, and saw Somerset err in handling the Scots. He must have smiled, at least inwardly. By the autumn of 1551, Somerset and his cohorts fell from grace, were tried and judged treasonous; it was a capital offence. In January 1552, Edward coolly recorded in his diary of the man who had tried to seize his kingdom: 'Today the Duke of Somerset had his head cut off on Tower Hill.' Clearly little Edward had inherited his father's genes.
Estimate: 15000-20000 GBP