Sovereign Rarities Ltd
Auction 2 24 Sep 2019
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Extremely Rare Obverse Die Variety of the Queen Elizabeth I Crown Unknown to Cooper
Elizabeth I (1558-1603), silver Crown of Five Shillings, ornate crowned bust left, holding orb and sceptre, sceptre points to I of legend, three fingers on handle, crown breaks inner beaded circle, initial mark 1 (1601), legend and beaded border surrounding, ELIZABETH: D; G; ANG; FRA; ET: HIBER; REGINA:1:, rev. long cross fourchée under quartered shield of arms, legend and beaded borders surrounding, :1: POSVI: DEVM: AD IVTORE M: MEVM:, weight 30.09g (Cooper dies D variety/6; N.2012; S.2582). Struck on a full flan just a little uneven in shape, well centred, with tiny surface marks and striations both sides, more so with flaws on reverse, evenly toned with good detail in striking, good very fine, an unpublished variety of the obverse die not in Cooper, only two pieces thus far known coupled with the sixth reverse, very rare.
The silver Crowns were struck right near the end of the reign of Elizabeth I in the last issue of her coinage. They are dated by the mint marks which are 1 for 1601, or 2 for 1602 in the Julian calendar in use at that time. F. R. Cooper studied the coinage in depth throughout the 1960s and produced his synopsis of the coinage, published through the Spink Numismatic Circular in June 1971. However, this die study did not illustrate or define this obverse die variety and was not listed until as late as 2005, when a piece turned up in the Alan Barr Collection of Crowns sold in 2005, but this piece was coupled with reverse 1. Since that time three more examples have turned up with this obverse coupled with reverse 1. However, only this piece herewith and one other sold at a French auction in 2018 have turned up coupled with reverse 6.
Provenance:
Ex Roderick Richardson, Numismatist, Spring 2018 Circular, item 59.
Elizabeth I (1558-1603), silver Crown of Five Shillings, ornate crowned bust left, holding orb and sceptre, sceptre points to I of legend, three fingers on handle, crown breaks inner beaded circle, initial mark 1 (1601), legend and beaded border surrounding, ELIZABETH: D; G; ANG; FRA; ET: HIBER; REGINA:1:, rev. long cross fourchée under quartered shield of arms, legend and beaded borders surrounding, :1: POSVI: DEVM: AD IVTORE M: MEVM:, weight 30.09g (Cooper dies D variety/6; N.2012; S.2582). Struck on a full flan just a little uneven in shape, well centred, with tiny surface marks and striations both sides, more so with flaws on reverse, evenly toned with good detail in striking, good very fine, an unpublished variety of the obverse die not in Cooper, only two pieces thus far known coupled with the sixth reverse, very rare.
The silver Crowns were struck right near the end of the reign of Elizabeth I in the last issue of her coinage. They are dated by the mint marks which are 1 for 1601, or 2 for 1602 in the Julian calendar in use at that time. F. R. Cooper studied the coinage in depth throughout the 1960s and produced his synopsis of the coinage, published through the Spink Numismatic Circular in June 1971. However, this die study did not illustrate or define this obverse die variety and was not listed until as late as 2005, when a piece turned up in the Alan Barr Collection of Crowns sold in 2005, but this piece was coupled with reverse 1. Since that time three more examples have turned up with this obverse coupled with reverse 1. However, only this piece herewith and one other sold at a French auction in 2018 have turned up coupled with reverse 6.
Provenance:
Ex Roderick Richardson, Numismatist, Spring 2018 Circular, item 59.