Baldwin & Sons
Auction 73 8 May 2012
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THE BENTLEY COLLECTION OF BRITISH MILLED GOLD SOVEREIGNS. Victoria, Sovereign, 1843, “narrow shield” variety, first young head left, with double fillet, ponytail terminates in single curved strand of hair, date below, rev possibly engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen, “narrow” crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel wreath of different leaf arrangement, crown with more prominent and acutely angled arches, tied with bow below shield with smaller ribbon ends, twelve pearls on each arch of crown, four pearls vertically arranged on central upright, nine pellets visible on ermine below jewel band, wreath of 21 leaves each side, top of wreath each side terminates in three leaves, seven harp strings in Irish arms, left string emanates from back of female figure above lower scroll, narrower spaced taller emblems below, double shamrock head to right of large central rose, thistle to left, no rosettes, small hyphen either side, 7.97g (Marsh 26A R4; MCE 504; S 3852B). Light surface marks, flaw to left of reverse through second N of legend, extremely fine and extremely rare.
ex Randy Weir, Unionville, Ontario, Canada, purchased 29 April 1992
The “narrow shield” variety of 1843 is different to the 1838 version and is perhaps the result of use of another unspent proposed reverse die from storage. The 1843 shield differs in a few design elements from the 1838 version most noticeable from the fact it has seven strings as opposed to six on the 1838 version. The leaf arrangements are similar and both consist of 21 leaves in each side of the wreath. The emblems below are quite different however and are much thicker and narrower on the 1843 reverse and have a mere hyphen each side rather than a rosette. The shamrock has two of its distinctive leaves rather than one, the central rose much larger and the thistle appears to have distant thistles beyond. Some of the leaves of the left hand wreath are not fully struck up or more faintly engraved.
The reason for striking the 1843 “narrow shield” is perhaps lost to history, but the legacy are these extremely rare narrow shield pieces most of which survive in lower grade. The Bentley Collection example is one of the finest extant.
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: £12,000-15,000
ex Randy Weir, Unionville, Ontario, Canada, purchased 29 April 1992
The “narrow shield” variety of 1843 is different to the 1838 version and is perhaps the result of use of another unspent proposed reverse die from storage. The 1843 shield differs in a few design elements from the 1838 version most noticeable from the fact it has seven strings as opposed to six on the 1838 version. The leaf arrangements are similar and both consist of 21 leaves in each side of the wreath. The emblems below are quite different however and are much thicker and narrower on the 1843 reverse and have a mere hyphen each side rather than a rosette. The shamrock has two of its distinctive leaves rather than one, the central rose much larger and the thistle appears to have distant thistles beyond. Some of the leaves of the left hand wreath are not fully struck up or more faintly engraved.
The reason for striking the 1843 “narrow shield” is perhaps lost to history, but the legacy are these extremely rare narrow shield pieces most of which survive in lower grade. The Bentley Collection example is one of the finest extant.
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: £12,000-15,000