Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3081 12-13 Jan 2020
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Great Britain
Victoria gold Proof "Una and the Lion" 5 Pounds 1839 PR61 Ultra Cameo NGC, KM742, S-3851, W&R-278. By William Wyon. Lettered edge. Perhaps Britain's most beautiful coin, and certainly that with the most international acclaim - the celebrated Una and the Lion 5 Pounds. Introduced as part of Victoria's inaugural Proof Set, Wyon chose to represent the young Victoria on this 5 Pounds as Una, the protagonist in the first volume of the Elizabethan poem "The Faerie Queen" by Edmund Spencer. So beloved was this design that collectors were ordering examples from the mint for decades after first production, these examples with a plain edge as oppose to lettered, produced up until 1886. This widespread admiration for Wyon's engraving has been further demonstrated in the multiple proposals to incorporate the Una and the Lion reverse into circulating coinage; first in 1839 as a proposal for a Crown, then again in 1859 as a pattern for a decimal Penny, in 1961 on a decimal 50 Cents, and finally in its appearance on the reverses of commemorative sets issued in both 1989 and 2001. The present offering is a proud representative of this famous issue, entirely embodying its famed beauty of design and production; a decadent honey-gold in color, bearing minor hairlines in the field in line with its grade, its devices immaculate and coated with rich matte frost. A resplendent piece, ranking amongst the most coveted of the British numismatic series and a true delight to behold.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/great-britain-victoria-gold-proof-una-and-the-lion-5-pounds-1839-pr61-ultra-cameo-ngc-/a/3081-32249.s?type=CoinArchives3081
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 100000-150000 USD
Victoria gold Proof "Una and the Lion" 5 Pounds 1839 PR61 Ultra Cameo NGC, KM742, S-3851, W&R-278. By William Wyon. Lettered edge. Perhaps Britain's most beautiful coin, and certainly that with the most international acclaim - the celebrated Una and the Lion 5 Pounds. Introduced as part of Victoria's inaugural Proof Set, Wyon chose to represent the young Victoria on this 5 Pounds as Una, the protagonist in the first volume of the Elizabethan poem "The Faerie Queen" by Edmund Spencer. So beloved was this design that collectors were ordering examples from the mint for decades after first production, these examples with a plain edge as oppose to lettered, produced up until 1886. This widespread admiration for Wyon's engraving has been further demonstrated in the multiple proposals to incorporate the Una and the Lion reverse into circulating coinage; first in 1839 as a proposal for a Crown, then again in 1859 as a pattern for a decimal Penny, in 1961 on a decimal 50 Cents, and finally in its appearance on the reverses of commemorative sets issued in both 1989 and 2001. The present offering is a proud representative of this famous issue, entirely embodying its famed beauty of design and production; a decadent honey-gold in color, bearing minor hairlines in the field in line with its grade, its devices immaculate and coated with rich matte frost. A resplendent piece, ranking amongst the most coveted of the British numismatic series and a true delight to behold.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/great-britain-victoria-gold-proof-una-and-the-lion-5-pounds-1839-pr61-ultra-cameo-ngc-/a/3081-32249.s?type=CoinArchives3081
HID02906262019
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 100000-150000 USD