Watch List notes:

Victoria, a set of Smith's decimal patterns by Marrian & Gausby, Birmingham, 10, 5, 2, 1 cent, in copper, and 1 centum in white metal, 1846, young head l., with two hair fillets, rev. value, SMITH ON DECIMAL CURRENCY around (P.-/2078/2081/2082/2086; Fr.-/816/818/819/823); and similar set by [?] Marrian & Gausby, 10, 5, 2 (2) and 1 cent, in lightly gilt copper, undated, engraved young head l., with two hair fillets, rev. engraved value, SMITHS DECIMAL CURRENCY above 10 cents, the others with value only (P.-; cf. Fr.811 in brass [R20]), both sets practically mint state, in matching fitted contemporary cases, the first set very rare, the second extremely so (10) A beautiful double set, virtually unobtainable in the marketplace and therefore a most special offering. The coins comprising this lot were in fact (Michael Freeman notes) 'the earliest patterns for a British decimal coinage', struck at Birmingham by silversmiths Marrian & Gausby. That they were of private origin, not engraved or struck by or within the Royal Mint at London, was not the cause of their dismissal as patterns. Rather, it was the legend found on the initial issues, reading SMITHS DECIMAL CURRENCY, which 'constituted an infringement upon the Royal Mint's sole prerogative of producing the coinage', Freeman explains, which led to the amended legend reading SMITH ON DECIMAL CURRENCY and finally to pieces lacking legends entirely. The decimal concept was brilliant in its simplicity, aiming at making 1,000 'cents' equal to £1. The 10-cent piece would therefore be worth 2.4 pennies of the old style. While restrikes of circa 1888 (by Shorthouse) exist, in various metals, of the 10-cent piece, original pieces are easily distinguished by their lack of die-rust and were made only in copper. As well, a few restrikes of the 2-cent piece in copper, and the 10-cent piece in antimony, appeared shortly after 1846 but are essentially contemporary. Peck states that all the dies were destroyed in 1888, and cites a letter dated 1909 from Shorthouse to L. Forrer as his source of reliable information. The original strikes are extremely rare, but even the various restrikes were made in tiny numbers, under a dozen in all. Peck believed that all pieces showing coin-die orientation of obverse to reverse are original strikes. In a footnote (page 479, 2nd Edition) he describes the copper 10-cent, 5-cent, 2-cent, and 1-cent pieces as being the 'decimal equivalents of a twopence, a penny, a halfpenny, and a farthing, respectively'. Further, Peck states that 'It is highly probable that the 1-centum piece was intended to represent a silver decimal shilling of 50 cents'. Taken as a whole, then, the appearance of the various states of the portrait of Victoria seen here, as well as the experimentation of incuse imagery caused by raised engraving of certain dies, offers numismatists a rare glance at methods of production for a coinage. The chance to own this set of patterns is truly a rarity in itself.

Estimate: £8000-10,000