Spink
Auction 21123 24 Feb 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Charles II (1660-1685), Five-Guineas, 1676 VICESIMO OCTAVO, first laureate head right, shorter ties, rev. crowned shields cruciform, emblem-adorned sceptres in angles, edge lettering downwards, 41.50g, 6h (Spink 3328A; MCE 13; EGC 182 [R5]; Murdoch II -; King -), a pocket piece with even circulation wear to high points and a trace of flecking or minor flawing in fields, otherwise fine/good fine, and in reality a most impressive example of this very seldom encountered date variety - this actually one of the best available to commerce.
Provenance
T Hansen, CNG 115, 16 September 2020, lot 1180
Spink 171, 25 November 2004, lot 25
,
The landmark King corpus recorded xxxx examples of this date/edge/truncation variety at global public auction or in fixed prices lists between 1960 and 2005. Accounting for duplication, an in-depth scan of CoinArchives (as of 31 January 2021) would reveal only five coins of this type at global public auction since then, including the present example. Notably almost all of the extant coins suffer from unsightly field gouges (as in the case of the EGC plate coin which accounts for five offerings between New York, London and Australia alone) or other surface cleaning and tooling. All appear to be in very fine or below for core grade, truly indicative of the incredibly poor survival of this variety in any grade, let alone unadulterated such as this. Such was touched upon in a separate listing back in the Seaby Bulletin in February1969 (G130), wherein a good fine example with upsetting striking softness to the legends and '76' was offered for the princely sum of £400, and the following note: 'one of the rarest dates for this denomination'. The famous Murdoch cabinet (1904) did not possess this type, opting for the more common 1676 E&C issue, again noted simply in 'fine' condition.
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000
Provenance
T Hansen, CNG 115, 16 September 2020, lot 1180
Spink 171, 25 November 2004, lot 25
,
The landmark King corpus recorded xxxx examples of this date/edge/truncation variety at global public auction or in fixed prices lists between 1960 and 2005. Accounting for duplication, an in-depth scan of CoinArchives (as of 31 January 2021) would reveal only five coins of this type at global public auction since then, including the present example. Notably almost all of the extant coins suffer from unsightly field gouges (as in the case of the EGC plate coin which accounts for five offerings between New York, London and Australia alone) or other surface cleaning and tooling. All appear to be in very fine or below for core grade, truly indicative of the incredibly poor survival of this variety in any grade, let alone unadulterated such as this. Such was touched upon in a separate listing back in the Seaby Bulletin in February1969 (G130), wherein a good fine example with upsetting striking softness to the legends and '76' was offered for the princely sum of £400, and the following note: 'one of the rarest dates for this denomination'. The famous Murdoch cabinet (1904) did not possess this type, opting for the more common 1676 E&C issue, again noted simply in 'fine' condition.
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000