Spink
Auction 22007 18 Oct 2022
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Charles I (1625-1649), Civil War Issues, Lord Byron's Emergency Issue (31 January 1645 - 3 February 1646), Siege of Royalist Chester, Shilling, :• CAROLVS DG • MAG [BRIT F]RAN • ET • HIB • REX • cruder crowned bust left, wearing falling lace collar, XII behind, rev. CHRIST | O AVSPI | CE RE | GNO, no stops, square-topped shield over long cross fleury, six strings to harp, 5.47g, 12h, m.m. triangle of three garbs of the City's Arms [on obv. only] (Hawkins & Kenyon, pp. 351, no. 28; Montagu -; Murdoch -; Geddes [BNJ, 1950] -; Lyall dies e/viii; Sharp [BNJ, 1982], pp. 246, no. 4, same dies; Brooker –; North 2630/2; Spink 3133C), struck on a typically irregular flan of prescribed weight, with rich dark blue-gray soil patination, handsomely struck up for this extraordinarily elusive issue, almost extremely fine, the reverse equally so for strike, of the highest rarity, probably the finest known, and the first offered in these rooms for over a decade.
provenance
Found at Salterforth (Lancs), 24 August 2022
~ Recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme ~
, ,
This prized rarity from the height of the Civil War lends its existence to a decree, authorised by the Mayor of Chester on 31 January 1644/45:
, ,
"That as much of the antiente plate of this citty as will amounte to the sum of one hundred poundes shall be forthwith converted into coyne for the necessary use and defence of this citty and towards the payment of the citties debts."
, ,
It was not however until Lyall's treaty in the 1971, Spink Numismatic Circular (pp. 98-99), that a Shilling coinage for Chester was properly identified. Prior to this time, only Halfcrowns and Threepences were undisputed given the signature to located on the issues. However H R Jessop's inspired attribution of the mintmark, a trio of garbs (BNJ, 1982, pp. 244), as seen on the Arms of the City, enabled the further identification of a short lived and tightly grouped, but truly remarkable series of Shillings. As noted by renowned Carolean specialist Michael Sharp (BNJ, 1982, pp. 245), the 'unusually high relief' of this coinage and evidence of flan 'pinching' indicates the use of more sophisticated presses in the manufacture, alongside the use of traditional hammer and anvil.
, ,
Bibliography:,
Lyall, 'The Chester Mint and the Coins attributed to that Mint', Spink Numismatic Circular 79 (1971), pp. 98-99,
Sharp, Some Additional Notes on the Civil War Coinage of Chester, BNJ (1982), pp. 245
, ,
Corpus:
i) Lyall, Part III, DNW 137, lot 897 - some obverse scratches, fair, a great rarity - £4,560
ii) Spink, 6-7 October 2011, lot 260 - weak in places, strong portrait, very fine and excessively rare- £9,000
iii) British Museum, Kenyon, pp. 351, no. 28 - 'York',
iv) This coin
Estimate: £10000 - £15000
provenance
Found at Salterforth (Lancs), 24 August 2022
~ Recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme ~
, ,
This prized rarity from the height of the Civil War lends its existence to a decree, authorised by the Mayor of Chester on 31 January 1644/45:
, ,
"That as much of the antiente plate of this citty as will amounte to the sum of one hundred poundes shall be forthwith converted into coyne for the necessary use and defence of this citty and towards the payment of the citties debts."
, ,
It was not however until Lyall's treaty in the 1971, Spink Numismatic Circular (pp. 98-99), that a Shilling coinage for Chester was properly identified. Prior to this time, only Halfcrowns and Threepences were undisputed given the signature to located on the issues. However H R Jessop's inspired attribution of the mintmark, a trio of garbs (BNJ, 1982, pp. 244), as seen on the Arms of the City, enabled the further identification of a short lived and tightly grouped, but truly remarkable series of Shillings. As noted by renowned Carolean specialist Michael Sharp (BNJ, 1982, pp. 245), the 'unusually high relief' of this coinage and evidence of flan 'pinching' indicates the use of more sophisticated presses in the manufacture, alongside the use of traditional hammer and anvil.
, ,
Bibliography:,
Lyall, 'The Chester Mint and the Coins attributed to that Mint', Spink Numismatic Circular 79 (1971), pp. 98-99,
Sharp, Some Additional Notes on the Civil War Coinage of Chester, BNJ (1982), pp. 245
, ,
Corpus:
i) Lyall, Part III, DNW 137, lot 897 - some obverse scratches, fair, a great rarity - £4,560
ii) Spink, 6-7 October 2011, lot 260 - weak in places, strong portrait, very fine and excessively rare- £9,000
iii) British Museum, Kenyon, pp. 351, no. 28 - 'York',
iv) This coin
Estimate: £10000 - £15000