Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 40 21 Nov 2019
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British Coins, Charles I, Pontefract besieged, diamond- or lozenge-shaped two-shillings, 1648, large crown over centred C∙R, legend DVM SPIRO SPERO beneath and surrounding, full beaded circle, rev. castle gateway with flag tower dividing P-C and hand holding sword protruding from right tower, OBS vertically at left, date below castle, all within a fully beaded circle, wt. 9gms., 138.5 grains (S.3147; N.2645), very fine, the strike especially well balanced showing minute details such as the raised portcullis within the gate, on an undamaged large flan, old-cabinet silvery grey toning, exceedingly rare
*ex Lingford Collection, purchased from A.H. Baldwin's and Sons in October 1949.
The largest, and by far the rarest, coin issued during the siege of Pontefract Castle in west Yorkshire, from June 1648 until March 1649. For a thorough account, see Philip Nelson's 'The Obsidional Money of the Great Rebellion 1642-1649' in the British Numismatic Journal, 1905. Challis more recently profoundly stated (page 283) that 'all the royalist provincial coinages of the civil war have one thing in common, fewness of numbers. For all his access to the silver from Wales and the plate of colleges, aristocrats and the like, Charles I never achieved a bullion supply in any way commensurate with that of Parliament. In all probability the output of all his mints during the entire conflict was no more in total than two or three average month's output at the Tower between 1642 and 1645'. This lot represents a truly exceptional opportunity to own one of the greatest rarities of the Civil War era.
(15000-25000)
*ex Lingford Collection, purchased from A.H. Baldwin's and Sons in October 1949.
The largest, and by far the rarest, coin issued during the siege of Pontefract Castle in west Yorkshire, from June 1648 until March 1649. For a thorough account, see Philip Nelson's 'The Obsidional Money of the Great Rebellion 1642-1649' in the British Numismatic Journal, 1905. Challis more recently profoundly stated (page 283) that 'all the royalist provincial coinages of the civil war have one thing in common, fewness of numbers. For all his access to the silver from Wales and the plate of colleges, aristocrats and the like, Charles I never achieved a bullion supply in any way commensurate with that of Parliament. In all probability the output of all his mints during the entire conflict was no more in total than two or three average month's output at the Tower between 1642 and 1645'. This lot represents a truly exceptional opportunity to own one of the greatest rarities of the Civil War era.
(15000-25000)