Sovereign Rarities Ltd
Auction 2 24 Sep 2019
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Commonwealth (1649-60), gold Unite of Twenty Shillings, 1651, English shield within laurel and palm branch, legends in English language, initial mark sun, .THE. COMMONWEALTH. OF. ENGLAND., rev. English and Irish shields, value .XX. above, beaded circle and legend surrounding, date at top,.GOD. WITH. VS., weight 9.04g (Schneider 339; N.2715; S.3208). Lightly toned, two small digs on obverse, small patch of scratches in upper right quadrant of obverse shield, otherwise well centred and struck on a broad flan, good very fine.
This is the largest denomination gold coin of the Commonwealth, with all hammered coins of this period being the first British coins to have legends in plain English. The gold of the initial accounting period of the Commonwealth totalled £31,570 from 16th May 1649 until Christmas Day 1651. British trade had been helped by the First Navigation Act of 1651 which prohibited the importation of foreign goods except in British ships or in the ships of the country of origin of the good carried. This helped English trade but led to a sea war later with the Dutch. This boost to English trade no doubt stimulated the production of English gold coin in the latter half of 1651 and onward.
Provenance:
Purchased from Noble Investments plc, Winter 2005.
This is the largest denomination gold coin of the Commonwealth, with all hammered coins of this period being the first British coins to have legends in plain English. The gold of the initial accounting period of the Commonwealth totalled £31,570 from 16th May 1649 until Christmas Day 1651. British trade had been helped by the First Navigation Act of 1651 which prohibited the importation of foreign goods except in British ships or in the ships of the country of origin of the good carried. This helped English trade but led to a sea war later with the Dutch. This boost to English trade no doubt stimulated the production of English gold coin in the latter half of 1651 and onward.
Provenance:
Purchased from Noble Investments plc, Winter 2005.