Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 40 21 Nov 2019
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British Coins, Charles I, Pontefract besieged, octagonal shilling, 1648, large crown over legend HANC DEVS DEDIT 1648 in three lines, with surrounding legend CAROLVS II D G MAG B ET H REX, rev. castle gateway with flag tower dividing P-C, pistol initial mark to right of flag, surrounded by legend POST MORTEM PATRIS PRO FILIO, and OBS vertically at left, cannon protruding from right tower, wt. 5.2 gms., 80 grains (S.3150; N.2649; Hird.282; Br.1234; Nelson figure 48), good very fine on a broad flan, evenly struck with full legends and overall excellent detail in the motifs, old-cabinet grey toning, unusually choice, extremely rare
Struck after the execution of Charles (on 30 January 1649), as the reverse legend indicates, in the name of his son and heir, Charles II, as the obverse legend claims. North stated that 'Some bear a pistol or coronet as rev. i.m.' but in fact this coin appears to be unique with this initial mark. It was first published by Nelson in his article on siege coinage in the 1905 British Numismatic Journal (page 326, illus. 46), at which time it was owned by Helen Farquhar. When her collection was sold by Glendining's in 1955, it was part of Lot 163, which was purchased by A.H. Baldwin and Sons for the then-enormous sum of £65 (for comparison, the extremely fine Pontefract without initial mark in the previous lot, 162, sold for £16). The other coin from that lot also appears in our auction. Referring again to North's comment, the only other Pontefract shilling bearing an initial mark, a coronet, also published by Nelson (page 327), has never been offered at public sale and is part of the collection of the City of Liverpool. In short, this is a fabulous memento of the Civil War, and one of the rarest of all siege coins.
(10000-20000)
Struck after the execution of Charles (on 30 January 1649), as the reverse legend indicates, in the name of his son and heir, Charles II, as the obverse legend claims. North stated that 'Some bear a pistol or coronet as rev. i.m.' but in fact this coin appears to be unique with this initial mark. It was first published by Nelson in his article on siege coinage in the 1905 British Numismatic Journal (page 326, illus. 46), at which time it was owned by Helen Farquhar. When her collection was sold by Glendining's in 1955, it was part of Lot 163, which was purchased by A.H. Baldwin and Sons for the then-enormous sum of £65 (for comparison, the extremely fine Pontefract without initial mark in the previous lot, 162, sold for £16). The other coin from that lot also appears in our auction. Referring again to North's comment, the only other Pontefract shilling bearing an initial mark, a coronet, also published by Nelson (page 327), has never been offered at public sale and is part of the collection of the City of Liverpool. In short, this is a fabulous memento of the Civil War, and one of the rarest of all siege coins.
(10000-20000)