Heritage World Coin Auctions
Signature Sale 3029 14-16 January 2014
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Scotland
Selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection of World Coins. Robert III (1390-1406) gold Demy-Lion ND, S-5161, MS62 NGC. Light Coinage of 1403-06. Rarely seen. A curious piece boldly struck in the centers but difficult to read on the legends as it is short of flan. This was the reign in which gold coins were introduced, and the smaller denominations, such as the coin in this lot, were variously called Half Crowns, Half Lions, and Demy-Lions, or sometimes just Demys. The obverse or lion design was copied from the French Ecu a la Couronne that had been struck during the second quarter of the 14th century. Opposing the lion is the famous Saint Andrew Cross, or more accurately, the image of Saint Andrew splayed on a cross, with both his hands and feet breaking through the outer legend and touching the edge on the full Lion, but this becomes stylistic on the Demy-Lion. The image and the Latin legend are allusions to Christ (in English, "Christ rules, Christ conquers, Christ commands"). Prominent is the fleur-de-lis mark, seen on the reverse of this specimen boldly struck with a simple bottom tail or stem. The shield of the obverse occurs with either a tressure of arches or a simpler spade-shaped crest. The full Lion had a contemporary value of 5 shillings, and altogether the gold was intended to compete with (and to be slightly more valuable intrinsically than) the English gold noble and its fractions, as the gold used was within 1/8 of a carat pure. All issues of this reign emanate from the Act of Parliament of 1393.Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate' Partnership of Eric P Newman / B.G. Johnson.
Estimate: 2000-2500 USD
Selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection of World Coins. Robert III (1390-1406) gold Demy-Lion ND, S-5161, MS62 NGC. Light Coinage of 1403-06. Rarely seen. A curious piece boldly struck in the centers but difficult to read on the legends as it is short of flan. This was the reign in which gold coins were introduced, and the smaller denominations, such as the coin in this lot, were variously called Half Crowns, Half Lions, and Demy-Lions, or sometimes just Demys. The obverse or lion design was copied from the French Ecu a la Couronne that had been struck during the second quarter of the 14th century. Opposing the lion is the famous Saint Andrew Cross, or more accurately, the image of Saint Andrew splayed on a cross, with both his hands and feet breaking through the outer legend and touching the edge on the full Lion, but this becomes stylistic on the Demy-Lion. The image and the Latin legend are allusions to Christ (in English, "Christ rules, Christ conquers, Christ commands"). Prominent is the fleur-de-lis mark, seen on the reverse of this specimen boldly struck with a simple bottom tail or stem. The shield of the obverse occurs with either a tressure of arches or a simpler spade-shaped crest. The full Lion had a contemporary value of 5 shillings, and altogether the gold was intended to compete with (and to be slightly more valuable intrinsically than) the English gold noble and its fractions, as the gold used was within 1/8 of a carat pure. All issues of this reign emanate from the Act of Parliament of 1393.Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate' Partnership of Eric P Newman / B.G. Johnson.
Estimate: 2000-2500 USD