Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 27 13 Jan 2019
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World Coins, South Africa, Transvaal, Burgers pattern 2½ shillings, in aluminum, 1874, milled edge, bearded portrait l., rev. shield of the Republic (KM.Pn4b; Hern.T10), certified and graded by PCGS as Proof Genuine, Environmental Damage - Uncirculated Detail; areas of heavy oxidation and various handling marks, very rare
The mintage in this metal is estimated to have been just 10 pieces. While no regular issue coins exist of this type, none ever being produced for commerce, this is one of a small number of experimental coins featuring the image of the republic's first president, famous to collectors for the pattern gold ponds which also bear his image – and for which he was excoriated by the legislature. Those are ironically among the most desired of all South African coins today, as most were melted and few survive without damage. The same appeal might fairly be said of the other pattern denominations, such as the presently offered piece. The gold ponds of 1874 were struck privately for Burgers by the Heaton Mint at Birmingham, while the other denominations, reputedly made as samples for salesmen, seem to have been minted in Brussels, most likely some time after 1874, by Henri Charles Würden. Details of their creation and striking remain largely unknown.
($5000-5500)
The mintage in this metal is estimated to have been just 10 pieces. While no regular issue coins exist of this type, none ever being produced for commerce, this is one of a small number of experimental coins featuring the image of the republic's first president, famous to collectors for the pattern gold ponds which also bear his image – and for which he was excoriated by the legislature. Those are ironically among the most desired of all South African coins today, as most were melted and few survive without damage. The same appeal might fairly be said of the other pattern denominations, such as the presently offered piece. The gold ponds of 1874 were struck privately for Burgers by the Heaton Mint at Birmingham, while the other denominations, reputedly made as samples for salesmen, seem to have been minted in Brussels, most likely some time after 1874, by Henri Charles Würden. Details of their creation and striking remain largely unknown.
($5000-5500)