Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 54 9 Dec 2020
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British Coins, Charles I (1625-1649), Nicholas Briot's first milled coinage of 1631-1632, gold double-crown, crowned draped bust left, value ♦X♦ behind, inner beaded linear circle, initial mark daisy with B close to left, legend CAROLVS D G MAG BRITAN FRAN ET HIB REX, rev. crowned and garnished quartered shield, crowned C and lozenge to left, crowned R and lozenge to right, inner beaded circle, initial mark •B• and surrounding legend CVLTORES SVI DEVS PROTEGIT with lozenge stops, 4.55gms. (S.2720; N.2295; Schneider 279; Brooker 710), good extremely fine (obtained by Thomas Law as an FDC specimen), underlying mint brilliance, perfectly centred on obverse, bold rims, a few tiny scuffs but still exceptionally fine surfaces, all in all a first-rate Briot piece, rare as a type but very rare in this state
*ex Thomas Law Collection (Stack's Bowers Galleries & Ponterio 176, 13 August 2013), lot 20178
J.J. North calls Briot 'a great artist' and notes that his initial success in London caused him also to engrave dies for the York Mint, and those coins clearly indicate a departure from traditional minting techniques as well. The king's personal interest in the fine arts is well known and, as Peter Woodhead relates (page 12), Briot obtained Charles's patronage in 1625/26 to engrave the royal effigy and was given funds to operate his milling shop inside the Tower Mint during two periods, those of 1631-32 and 1638-39. The coins are differentiated by their initial marks. The king so approved of his work that he was appointed as a mint engraver in 1634; it is coins such as the specimen in this lot that so prompted the king's approval. But the coins produced by Briot also boasted superb fineness of metal quality, which was of considerable importance to the mint's officials at this period leading up to the Civil War. Challis tells us (page 301) that 'Briot was installed in the house in the Tower belonging to the warden' and that he melted his own ingots so as to assure the fineness of his beautiful coinage, lending it endurance both as a royal symbol and as money.
(15000-17000 GBP)
*ex Thomas Law Collection (Stack's Bowers Galleries & Ponterio 176, 13 August 2013), lot 20178
J.J. North calls Briot 'a great artist' and notes that his initial success in London caused him also to engrave dies for the York Mint, and those coins clearly indicate a departure from traditional minting techniques as well. The king's personal interest in the fine arts is well known and, as Peter Woodhead relates (page 12), Briot obtained Charles's patronage in 1625/26 to engrave the royal effigy and was given funds to operate his milling shop inside the Tower Mint during two periods, those of 1631-32 and 1638-39. The coins are differentiated by their initial marks. The king so approved of his work that he was appointed as a mint engraver in 1634; it is coins such as the specimen in this lot that so prompted the king's approval. But the coins produced by Briot also boasted superb fineness of metal quality, which was of considerable importance to the mint's officials at this period leading up to the Civil War. Challis tells us (page 301) that 'Briot was installed in the house in the Tower belonging to the warden' and that he melted his own ingots so as to assure the fineness of his beautiful coinage, lending it endurance both as a royal symbol and as money.
(15000-17000 GBP)