Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 54 9 Dec 2020
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British Coins, James I (1603-1625), second coinage (1604-1619), rose ryal of thirty shillings, mm. grapes over escallop (struck 1606-07), king enthroned facing, wearing crown and mantle, holding sceptre in right hand extending over his shoulder, orb cradled by his left hand, portcullis below, rev., coat-of-arms within large decorative rose, legend surrounding, 13.61gms. (N.2079; S.2613), good very fine, full flan displaying complete letters of the legends, slightly soft in detail on the king's image but otherwise evenly struck and well detailed, and rare as a type
*ex Baldwin's of St. James's Auction 18 (7 June 2018), lot 161
This, the largest coin of late medieval and Renaissance England, which in style evolved from the 'fine' sovereigns of the Tudors, took on the new name of Rose Ryal during this reign. The wide-open Tudor rose, which dominates the reverse side, suggested the name by which numismatists came to know it. In its day, the coin was normally called 30 Shillings. As the largest English gold coin of its time, it competed with gold coins of Europe as an instrument for trade. Few individuals actually ever saw such a coin outside of the banking and commercial communities. Mintage was therefore fairly steady, as a denomination, and invariably fairly small in quantity. Throughout the ensuing centuries, it became tradition at the Royal Mint, and by royal warrant, to melt earlier gold pieces in order to supply gold for new issues. By the 18th century, almost all hammered gold pieces had either been melted, to make new, or gone into hiding in collectors' cabinets. Survival became a matter of sheer chance. The primary reason for the many melts was that coins such as this yielded high-content gold which could be alloyed in order to yield coins of more face value. During this reign, purity was .995 fine for ryals and angels, while for smaller denominations (those mostly intended for homeland use) it was .917 in fineness. Within the iconography of the ryals especially, the message changed, the former ANGL being replaced by MAG BRIT (introduced in 1604 for the Second Coinage); it assured the British of being more united, and foreign traders of, perhaps, a more formidable issuer standing behind the coins as money. A remarkable advancement in accounting at the mint also occurred at this time: never before had the details included in mint documents recorded exactly when each initial mark was used. They provide collectors and students of money with a greater knowledge of die succession. Thus we know for a fact, on this specimen, that the earlier initial mark, the escallop, used 11 July 1606 through 30 June 1607, was just being replaced by the next, the bunch of grapes, a mark used on the coins from 1 July 1607 through 11 November of the same year. As we have one initial mark punched over the other, we can thus pinpoint within months exactly when this coin was made
(16000-17000 GBP)
*ex Baldwin's of St. James's Auction 18 (7 June 2018), lot 161
This, the largest coin of late medieval and Renaissance England, which in style evolved from the 'fine' sovereigns of the Tudors, took on the new name of Rose Ryal during this reign. The wide-open Tudor rose, which dominates the reverse side, suggested the name by which numismatists came to know it. In its day, the coin was normally called 30 Shillings. As the largest English gold coin of its time, it competed with gold coins of Europe as an instrument for trade. Few individuals actually ever saw such a coin outside of the banking and commercial communities. Mintage was therefore fairly steady, as a denomination, and invariably fairly small in quantity. Throughout the ensuing centuries, it became tradition at the Royal Mint, and by royal warrant, to melt earlier gold pieces in order to supply gold for new issues. By the 18th century, almost all hammered gold pieces had either been melted, to make new, or gone into hiding in collectors' cabinets. Survival became a matter of sheer chance. The primary reason for the many melts was that coins such as this yielded high-content gold which could be alloyed in order to yield coins of more face value. During this reign, purity was .995 fine for ryals and angels, while for smaller denominations (those mostly intended for homeland use) it was .917 in fineness. Within the iconography of the ryals especially, the message changed, the former ANGL being replaced by MAG BRIT (introduced in 1604 for the Second Coinage); it assured the British of being more united, and foreign traders of, perhaps, a more formidable issuer standing behind the coins as money. A remarkable advancement in accounting at the mint also occurred at this time: never before had the details included in mint documents recorded exactly when each initial mark was used. They provide collectors and students of money with a greater knowledge of die succession. Thus we know for a fact, on this specimen, that the earlier initial mark, the escallop, used 11 July 1606 through 30 June 1607, was just being replaced by the next, the bunch of grapes, a mark used on the coins from 1 July 1607 through 11 November of the same year. As we have one initial mark punched over the other, we can thus pinpoint within months exactly when this coin was made
(16000-17000 GBP)