Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 122 15-16 Jun 2021
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Great Britain. Sovereign, 1852. S.3852D; Fr-387e; KM-736.1. Weight 0.2355 ounce. Victoria. Young head. Reverse; Crowned shield. PCGS graded MS-63+. 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 674148.63+/35474680. Estimated Value $1,250 - UP
The Great Famine, which had begun in 1845 and resulted in the loss of almost a quarter of the Irish population through death and emigration to escape starvation finally came to an end in 1852. However, obstacles to safe, healthy, and adequately paid work in industrial Great Britain still remained to give a taste of hunger to many. In an attempt to fight for the rights of workers, unions began to form, including the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Pattern-makers. When this organization decided to ban overtime and piecework in January 1852, employers retaliated with a three-month lockout.
Minor disputes between the British East India Company and the Burmese Empire regarding the Treaty of Yandabo (1826) became a flimsy excuse for beginning a Second Anglo-Burmese war on 5 April 1852. This conflict, which lasted until 20 January 1853, resulted in the British annexation of Lower Burma, a change of emperor, and the plunder of Burmese Buddhist pagodas for their gold. The entire affair, which was misrepresented by Parliament left a bad taste in the mouths of large segments of the British public and inspired a scathing anonymous pamphlet, How Wars are Got Up in India.
The year 1852 was also notable as the last in which a fatal duel took place on English soil. On 19 October, Emmanuel Barthélemy challenged his fellow French exile Frederic Cournet to a pistol duel in response to an insult to his girlfriend. Cournet was hit and died from his wound, but Barthélemy, unharmed, was later arrested and convicted of manslaughter. Two years later Barthélemy's violent ways got him into trouble again. After shooting a former policeman in an altercation, he was convicted of murder and finally hanged in 1855.
Special PCGS number 674148.63+/35474680. Estimated Value $1,250 - UP
The Great Famine, which had begun in 1845 and resulted in the loss of almost a quarter of the Irish population through death and emigration to escape starvation finally came to an end in 1852. However, obstacles to safe, healthy, and adequately paid work in industrial Great Britain still remained to give a taste of hunger to many. In an attempt to fight for the rights of workers, unions began to form, including the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Pattern-makers. When this organization decided to ban overtime and piecework in January 1852, employers retaliated with a three-month lockout.
Minor disputes between the British East India Company and the Burmese Empire regarding the Treaty of Yandabo (1826) became a flimsy excuse for beginning a Second Anglo-Burmese war on 5 April 1852. This conflict, which lasted until 20 January 1853, resulted in the British annexation of Lower Burma, a change of emperor, and the plunder of Burmese Buddhist pagodas for their gold. The entire affair, which was misrepresented by Parliament left a bad taste in the mouths of large segments of the British public and inspired a scathing anonymous pamphlet, How Wars are Got Up in India.
The year 1852 was also notable as the last in which a fatal duel took place on English soil. On 19 October, Emmanuel Barthélemy challenged his fellow French exile Frederic Cournet to a pistol duel in response to an insult to his girlfriend. Cournet was hit and died from his wound, but Barthélemy, unharmed, was later arrested and convicted of manslaughter. Two years later Barthélemy's violent ways got him into trouble again. After shooting a former policeman in an altercation, he was convicted of murder and finally hanged in 1855.