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January Signature Sale 3089 21-22 Jan 2021
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Ireland
James II silver Proof Restrike "Gunmoney" Crown 1690-Dated PR65 NGC, Dublin mint(?), KM103.1a (Rare; listed as overstruck), S-6585, D&F-371, cf. Timmins-pp. 120-121 (see note 3). 20.42gm. Plain edge. Immensely captivating, and rather enigmatic as an issue, the details of the strike rendered in a pinpoint accuracy that would simply be unthinkable for the notoriously crude base metal "gunmetal" money produced during James II's exile in Ireland. Due to the need for yet further coinage felt by the Jacobite authorities in Dublin by March 1689, on April 21st 1690 (by Order No. LXXXV) a pattern crown was produced in white metal with several copper plugs. Owing to the naturally corrosion-prone nature of the metal, these pieces do not seem to have been released for circulation, with those that do survive down to the present being few and far between and almost universally found in bad condition. Timmins has reported, in response to known examples struck in silver and gold with and without edge lettering, that there is some suggestion that around the 1780s, Matthew Boulton struck crowns from the captured original dies to order at his workshop in Soho, although Spink's Standard Catalogue states that these were not produced from original dies. For his part, Timmins notes that "there is one silver crown listed in the British Museum (ref 1935,1117.716) that is listed as a silver proof."
While this TRIVMPHO legend type is the only of these restrikes not cataloged by Spink as "extremely rare", we have been able to find no records of the type becoming available within the last 15 years, though a similar example (struck from the same dies) did appear as part of the John J. Pittman Collection, Part III (lot 3977), apparently part of a six-coin Proof set which he had acquired from Spink in 1959. This alone suggests a supreme scarcity that on many counts may seem to rival that of the original pewter pieces. Certainly achieving a new level of desirability on the basis of its fine style and execution alone, we cannot doubt that the offering, with its esteemed pedigree, will appear as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors of the coinage of the Isles, and will demand bidders to place their best bids.
We note that while the 1897 Montagu listing notes that this coin is from the Wakeford collection, a data point passed down on the Davissons tag included with this lot, we have not been able to locate it in Sotheby's November 1879 catalog of that sale.
Ex. Davissons (Purchased in 2006); Glendining (October 1987, Lot 524); Montagu Collection (Sotheby's July 1897, Lot 285); Wakeford Collection
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ireland/ireland-james-ii-silver-proof-restrike-gunmoney-crown-1690-dated-pr65-ngc-/a/3089-30110.s?type=CoinArchives3089
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
James II silver Proof Restrike "Gunmoney" Crown 1690-Dated PR65 NGC, Dublin mint(?), KM103.1a (Rare; listed as overstruck), S-6585, D&F-371, cf. Timmins-pp. 120-121 (see note 3). 20.42gm. Plain edge. Immensely captivating, and rather enigmatic as an issue, the details of the strike rendered in a pinpoint accuracy that would simply be unthinkable for the notoriously crude base metal "gunmetal" money produced during James II's exile in Ireland. Due to the need for yet further coinage felt by the Jacobite authorities in Dublin by March 1689, on April 21st 1690 (by Order No. LXXXV) a pattern crown was produced in white metal with several copper plugs. Owing to the naturally corrosion-prone nature of the metal, these pieces do not seem to have been released for circulation, with those that do survive down to the present being few and far between and almost universally found in bad condition. Timmins has reported, in response to known examples struck in silver and gold with and without edge lettering, that there is some suggestion that around the 1780s, Matthew Boulton struck crowns from the captured original dies to order at his workshop in Soho, although Spink's Standard Catalogue states that these were not produced from original dies. For his part, Timmins notes that "there is one silver crown listed in the British Museum (ref 1935,1117.716) that is listed as a silver proof."
While this TRIVMPHO legend type is the only of these restrikes not cataloged by Spink as "extremely rare", we have been able to find no records of the type becoming available within the last 15 years, though a similar example (struck from the same dies) did appear as part of the John J. Pittman Collection, Part III (lot 3977), apparently part of a six-coin Proof set which he had acquired from Spink in 1959. This alone suggests a supreme scarcity that on many counts may seem to rival that of the original pewter pieces. Certainly achieving a new level of desirability on the basis of its fine style and execution alone, we cannot doubt that the offering, with its esteemed pedigree, will appear as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors of the coinage of the Isles, and will demand bidders to place their best bids.
We note that while the 1897 Montagu listing notes that this coin is from the Wakeford collection, a data point passed down on the Davissons tag included with this lot, we have not been able to locate it in Sotheby's November 1879 catalog of that sale.
Ex. Davissons (Purchased in 2006); Glendining (October 1987, Lot 524); Montagu Collection (Sotheby's July 1897, Lot 285); Wakeford Collection
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ireland/ireland-james-ii-silver-proof-restrike-gunmoney-crown-1690-dated-pr65-ngc-/a/3089-30110.s?type=CoinArchives3089
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD