St. James's Auctions
Auction 86 28 Feb 2024
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George III, pattern crown (1820) in silver, by Webb and Mills for Mudie, tall bare-head laureate bust right, rev. four crowned cruciform shields, badge of the Garter at centre, in angles the royal emblems consisting of the rose, thistle, shamrock and Hanover horse, plain edge, engravers' signatures in the fields of both sides (ESC.2055; old ESC.221), certified and graded by PCGS as Proof-64 Deep Cameo, the marvellous (if fanciful) portrait of the king delightfully toned in golden hues, surrounded by fields of medium grey, fairly scarce but especially so this choice, a wonderful memento from the very end of this long and eventful reign
The only one graded as Proof-64 Deep Cameo by PCGS, none higher.
One of the oddest and most attractive of all the coins produced in George III's name is this pattern which came into existence as the reign ended. Although not dated it is believed to have been struck in 1820; exactly when remains unknown. The king's portrait is unique among representations of his visage, featuring a sensitive and especially realistic face likely conceived and definitely engraved by Thomas Webb, a noted Birmingham medallist whose signature appears on the obverse along the rim, as does James Mudie's, just below the bust. Mudie was the issuer of this private pattern, a man well known at the time as the promoter behind a series of National Medals celebrating British victories, to which Webb contributed as an engraver. The coin's reverse is an imaginative tribute to a design style (cruciform shields) used in earlier days. It was the work of George Mills, who signed the die along the rim and also worked on the extraordinary Whiteaves pattern crown of 1820, for George IV. He was a visionary talent who died at the age of 32 just four years after working on the two pattern crowns-already regarded as one of the finest engravers of medals in England. Owning any of George Mills' works suggests connoisseurship.
Estimate: 4000 - 5000 GBP
The only one graded as Proof-64 Deep Cameo by PCGS, none higher.
One of the oddest and most attractive of all the coins produced in George III's name is this pattern which came into existence as the reign ended. Although not dated it is believed to have been struck in 1820; exactly when remains unknown. The king's portrait is unique among representations of his visage, featuring a sensitive and especially realistic face likely conceived and definitely engraved by Thomas Webb, a noted Birmingham medallist whose signature appears on the obverse along the rim, as does James Mudie's, just below the bust. Mudie was the issuer of this private pattern, a man well known at the time as the promoter behind a series of National Medals celebrating British victories, to which Webb contributed as an engraver. The coin's reverse is an imaginative tribute to a design style (cruciform shields) used in earlier days. It was the work of George Mills, who signed the die along the rim and also worked on the extraordinary Whiteaves pattern crown of 1820, for George IV. He was a visionary talent who died at the age of 32 just four years after working on the two pattern crowns-already regarded as one of the finest engravers of medals in England. Owning any of George Mills' works suggests connoisseurship.
Estimate: 4000 - 5000 GBP