Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 122 15-16 Jun 2021
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Great Britain. Sovereign, 1851. S.3852C; Fr-387e; KM-736.1. Weight 0.2355 ounce. Victoria. Young head left. Reverse; Crowned shield. PCGS graded AU-55. In special PCGS Ship of Gold holder which contains One Pinch of Gold Dust recovered from the S.S. Central America treasure.
Special PCGS number 674158.55/35474691. Estimated Value $500 - UP
The most notable event in the United Kingdom when this sovereign was struck was almost certainly the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations held in London from 1 May to 15 October 1851. While the Great Exhibition was presented as a celebration of modern technology and design its primary purpose was to respond to (and outdo) the French Industrial Exposition of 1844 and advertise the United Kingdom as the world industrial leader. The exhibits, which included a variety of inventions and materials, were housed in a massive glass and steel structure known as the Crystal Palace, which was designed and erected in the space of only nine months. The Great Exhibition was attended by many political, scientific, and literary luminaries of the period, including the likes of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, and Charlotte Brontë and raised enough money to found several museums devoted to science and technology in Kensington.
There can be no doubt that the Great Exhibition was the great British triumph of 1851. However, the year was otherwise tarnished in the United Kingdom by the introduction of new anti-Catholic legislation in the form of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act as well as the prevention of the duly-elected David Salomons from taking his seat in Parliament. His Jewish faith made it impossible for him to swear the required oath of abjuration in its traditional Christian form and he was therefore removed. The end of the year was also blackened by a scandalous private telegram sent by Lord John Henry Palmerston, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, to congratulate Louis Napoleon on his coup in France although the Cabinet and the Queen had insisted on maintaining neutrality. Palmerston, who was already distrusted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was forced to resign.
Special PCGS number 674158.55/35474691. Estimated Value $500 - UP
The most notable event in the United Kingdom when this sovereign was struck was almost certainly the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations held in London from 1 May to 15 October 1851. While the Great Exhibition was presented as a celebration of modern technology and design its primary purpose was to respond to (and outdo) the French Industrial Exposition of 1844 and advertise the United Kingdom as the world industrial leader. The exhibits, which included a variety of inventions and materials, were housed in a massive glass and steel structure known as the Crystal Palace, which was designed and erected in the space of only nine months. The Great Exhibition was attended by many political, scientific, and literary luminaries of the period, including the likes of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, and Charlotte Brontë and raised enough money to found several museums devoted to science and technology in Kensington.
There can be no doubt that the Great Exhibition was the great British triumph of 1851. However, the year was otherwise tarnished in the United Kingdom by the introduction of new anti-Catholic legislation in the form of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act as well as the prevention of the duly-elected David Salomons from taking his seat in Parliament. His Jewish faith made it impossible for him to swear the required oath of abjuration in its traditional Christian form and he was therefore removed. The end of the year was also blackened by a scandalous private telegram sent by Lord John Henry Palmerston, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, to congratulate Louis Napoleon on his coup in France although the Cabinet and the Queen had insisted on maintaining neutrality. Palmerston, who was already distrusted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was forced to resign.