Baldwin & Sons
Auction 73 8 May 2012
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
THE BENTLEY COLLECTION OF BRITISH MILLED GOLD SOVEREIGNS. Victoria, Sovereign, 1841, first young head left, with single strand of hair at terminal of ponytail which is disjointed, date below, toothed border both sides, normal A’s in GRATIA, rev struck with inverted die axis, crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel, emblems below, 7.94g (Marsh 24 R3; MCE 501; S 3852). Fine / almost very fine, the reverse stronger than obverse, the key date for the London young head currency series, extremely rare.
ex St James’s Auction 5, 27 September 2006, lot 582
Calendar year mintage 124,054
This coin exhibits a weaker rendering of the ponytail terminal, which in the first smaller young head usually has a single curving strand of hair to finish it off, and with the two multi-strand turnings of hair above fully jointed. This 1841 Sovereign has only a trace of the single strand termination and shows a multi-strand ending at the part above. The next part above that, is only partially joined on one side rather than both. This weaker rendering occurs very rarely.
There being no sovereigns minted bearing the date 1840, the whole calendar year figure presumably represents 1841 dated coins only, though unspent 1839 dies may have continued at first but is unlikely due to the gap in production.
With a relatively low mintage, the 1841 Sovereign does not survive in any quantity, the supply of this date in the coin market has always been out-stripped by demand and examples in recent years for sale have been few and far between. When offered for sale by auction the 1841 Sovereign has garnered higher and higher realisations recently, as was seen for a mint state example at Bonham’s in December 2011, sold for £34,800 including buyer’s premium.
Even though few coins exist there are two significant varieties, the full letter A’s in the last word on the obverse and the unbarred A variety, only noted and published with the last decade. The Bentley Collection contains both varieties, this is the lesser quality example herewith albeit with the full A’s in legend. The unbarred A variety will be offered for sale in part three which survives in a higher grade of preservation.
Victoria First Small Young Head Type Currency Sovereign
The currency Sovereigns of Queen Victoria begin with a standard Young head design engraved by William Wyon with date below. The head does not quite fill the field as a later depiction does from 1848, and has the hair bound with a double fillet. It also has a large bun at the rear of the head that drops down into a “ponytail,” which on this earlier issue terminates at the bottom in a single strand ring-like curl. The engraver’s initial’s W.W. appear raised on the truncation. The legend reads VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. The border is finely toothed with a linear circle around the raised border which features both sides with a milled edge. The young head obverse design in basic from runs from 1838 till 1887. There are no Sovereigns dated 1840. However, this first young head is of a smaller design and only lasts for ten years inclusive from 1838-1848.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The majority of currency reverses of Victoria carry seven strings in the Irish harp with a faint diagonal line running through them depicting the rear of the bottom harp body. The shorter left string generally emanates at the top from the scroll on the back of the female figure on the harp body. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band. The legend reads BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF:. The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. In the Colonial Australian series this reverse lasted until 1887 as it proved popular and acceptable in trade with Asia, a narrative to be continued in part two of the Bentley Collection.
The Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
House of Hanover
Born: 24 May 1819
Accession: 20 June 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10 February 1840
Coronation: Thursday 28 June 1838
Children: four sons, five daughters
Died: 22 January 1901, aged 81
Estimate: £6000-8000
ex St James’s Auction 5, 27 September 2006, lot 582
Calendar year mintage 124,054
This coin exhibits a weaker rendering of the ponytail terminal, which in the first smaller young head usually has a single curving strand of hair to finish it off, and with the two multi-strand turnings of hair above fully jointed. This 1841 Sovereign has only a trace of the single strand termination and shows a multi-strand ending at the part above. The next part above that, is only partially joined on one side rather than both. This weaker rendering occurs very rarely.
There being no sovereigns minted bearing the date 1840, the whole calendar year figure presumably represents 1841 dated coins only, though unspent 1839 dies may have continued at first but is unlikely due to the gap in production.
With a relatively low mintage, the 1841 Sovereign does not survive in any quantity, the supply of this date in the coin market has always been out-stripped by demand and examples in recent years for sale have been few and far between. When offered for sale by auction the 1841 Sovereign has garnered higher and higher realisations recently, as was seen for a mint state example at Bonham’s in December 2011, sold for £34,800 including buyer’s premium.
Even though few coins exist there are two significant varieties, the full letter A’s in the last word on the obverse and the unbarred A variety, only noted and published with the last decade. The Bentley Collection contains both varieties, this is the lesser quality example herewith albeit with the full A’s in legend. The unbarred A variety will be offered for sale in part three which survives in a higher grade of preservation.
Victoria First Small Young Head Type Currency Sovereign
The currency Sovereigns of Queen Victoria begin with a standard Young head design engraved by William Wyon with date below. The head does not quite fill the field as a later depiction does from 1848, and has the hair bound with a double fillet. It also has a large bun at the rear of the head that drops down into a “ponytail,” which on this earlier issue terminates at the bottom in a single strand ring-like curl. The engraver’s initial’s W.W. appear raised on the truncation. The legend reads VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. The border is finely toothed with a linear circle around the raised border which features both sides with a milled edge. The young head obverse design in basic from runs from 1838 till 1887. There are no Sovereigns dated 1840. However, this first young head is of a smaller design and only lasts for ten years inclusive from 1838-1848.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The majority of currency reverses of Victoria carry seven strings in the Irish harp with a faint diagonal line running through them depicting the rear of the bottom harp body. The shorter left string generally emanates at the top from the scroll on the back of the female figure on the harp body. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band. The legend reads BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF:. The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. In the Colonial Australian series this reverse lasted until 1887 as it proved popular and acceptable in trade with Asia, a narrative to be continued in part two of the Bentley Collection.
The Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
House of Hanover
Born: 24 May 1819
Accession: 20 June 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10 February 1840
Coronation: Thursday 28 June 1838
Children: four sons, five daughters
Died: 22 January 1901, aged 81
Estimate: £6000-8000