Watch List notes:

Cromwell gold Broad, or 20 Shillings, 1656, S-3225, WR-39 (R2), reeded edge, AU53 NGC, a coin which clearly saw use over a period of years, proving that not all of Oliver Cromwell's coins were put into hiding after his demise, this most affordable piece showing some light ancient scratches and a number of tiny abrasions, none of which really bothers the cataloguer as the portrait is sharp, so too the crowned shield on reverse, the bordering rims are bold and high, and the coin is toned to offer a soft satiny appearance.This fascinating denomination, the only English coin to be known by this name, looks both backward in time to its origin (it was of the same nominal value as the gold Pound of Elizabeth) and forward to the centuries ahead: with its value set at 20 shillings it was identical in buying power to the first guineas which would soon appear. Cromwell's artistic Broad introduced a new style of gold coin to England, cleverly and sharply engraved, smartly minted using France's newest imported technology, fully round, and technically superb. When it first appeared in 1656 it must have been a really gleaming, never before seen, representation of wealth. In terms of the coin's iconography, Cromwell never permitted himself to be called or crowned king, and all of his portrait coins broke with the ancient English tradition of having each succeeding monarch look in a direction opposite to that shown on the previous ruler's coinage. Charles I was always shown looking left. Cromwell faced the same direction. Was it a subtle defiance, his symbolic way of saying that he was not a king? Perhaps he envisioned himself as even more, just as the ancient Roman emperors ruled many kings across the world then known.From The Marston Collection of British Coins.

Estimate: 12000.00-14000.00 USD