Watch List notes:

Edward VI, fine silver coinage, crown, mm. y, 1551, crowned figure of king on horseback r., shouldering sword, date below, rev. long cross fourchée over shield of arms (S.2478; N.1933), toned, practically extremely fine, very rare this choice *ex Lingford, 1950, lot 3 ex Nightingale 1951 ex Whetmore 1961 ex F. R. Cooper, sold privately A superb piece with an impressive pedigree, this beautiful crown, struck nearly at the end of the tragic short reign of Henry VIII's only son, was the first of its kind, a 5-shilling piece in good silver, the forerunner of centuries of continuous issuance of this denomination. By the 19th century, silver crowns did not circulate broadly or for long, having been replaced as money by paper currency or cheques in most commerce; but such was not the case in the middle of the 16th century, when 'hard money' was the only kind of money and also when the political message of a king on horseback, the titular head of a powerful nation with a long history of military achievements, carried real meaning both at home and abroad in foreign trade. But the story behind this coin involves the boy-king's father, Henry Tudor, whose flagrant disregard for fiscal prudence at last led to a poor treasury and a lack of faith in his money generally. But ridding the commercial lanes of debased coin was not easily managed, and it was only in this latter period of the reign of Edward VI that silver of fine quality was in sufficient supply to drive out the bad coins. Gold, too, was returned to good quality but it was not the stuff of commerce across the land. Silver was. J.J. North tells us that, in fact, the 'greatest improvement was in the silver coins, most of which were struck from metal of 11 oz. 1 dwt. fine', and most noticed by the public were the large crown and halfcrown, both sharing the same designs, and then the shilling showing a fine three-quarters facing image of the crowned young king. A testament to the acceptance and thus success of this coinage is the paucity of examples found today in quality condition; most of the issued coinage was used and heavily worn. Somehow, this exceptionally fine example of the 'horseman crown' survived, possibly kept by a wealthy admirer of the Tudors and their last male heir to the throne of England.

Estimate: £15,000-20,000