Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 1 4 January 2015
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Great Britain
George III copper "Hercules" Proof Pattern Crown 1820 PR66 Brown NGC, ESC-244 (R2). Plain edge. By Droz after Monneron's French pattern (of 1792) by Dupré. A splendid specimen, heavily bronzed, truly original, and fantastic in both technical quality and color. Formerly considered to be a medal, this curious and very distinctive issue has long been collected as a pattern for a crown, a piece sometimes attributed to the reign of George IV but traditionally listed under the coinage of George III--it is dated the year of his death, which raises an obvious question. The wonderfully expressive design was inspired by a smaller-sized pattern made in France circa 1791-92 by the firm of Monneron Freres but never coined commercially as it was proscribed by French law of 1793 prohibiting the use of privately created patterns for money. Jean-Pierre Droz, a Swiss engraver of dies for coins and of plates for paper currency, copied the concept of the originals by Augustin Dupré and engraved the set of dies used to strike this pattern for Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint, Birmingham where this was made. The imagery is seen as an enduring symbol of liberty in an age of tyranny as Hercules struggles to break the ties of human bondage.
Estimate: 4000-5000 USD
George III copper "Hercules" Proof Pattern Crown 1820 PR66 Brown NGC, ESC-244 (R2). Plain edge. By Droz after Monneron's French pattern (of 1792) by Dupré. A splendid specimen, heavily bronzed, truly original, and fantastic in both technical quality and color. Formerly considered to be a medal, this curious and very distinctive issue has long been collected as a pattern for a crown, a piece sometimes attributed to the reign of George IV but traditionally listed under the coinage of George III--it is dated the year of his death, which raises an obvious question. The wonderfully expressive design was inspired by a smaller-sized pattern made in France circa 1791-92 by the firm of Monneron Freres but never coined commercially as it was proscribed by French law of 1793 prohibiting the use of privately created patterns for money. Jean-Pierre Droz, a Swiss engraver of dies for coins and of plates for paper currency, copied the concept of the originals by Augustin Dupré and engraved the set of dies used to strike this pattern for Boulton and Watt at the Soho Mint, Birmingham where this was made. The imagery is seen as an enduring symbol of liberty in an age of tyranny as Hercules struggles to break the ties of human bondage.
Estimate: 4000-5000 USD