Sovereign Rarities

Auction 2  –  24 September 2019

Sovereign Rarities, Auction 2

British, World and Ancient Coins

Tu, 24.09.2019, from 11:00 AM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

The Extremely Rare Cartouche Reverse silver Charles I Pound of 1644

Charles I (1625-49), silver Pound of Twenty Shillings, dated 1644, Oxford Mint, King on horseback left with raised sword and flowing scarf, spirited horse trampling over arms and armour, Oxford plume in field behind, all within beaded circle, legend and outer beaded circle surrounding, initial mark Oxford plume, CAROLVS D: G: MAG: BRIT: FRA: ET HIBER: REX, rev. Declaration in three lines in lion headed cartouche, RELIG: PROT / :LEG: ANG: / LIBER: PAR:, value and Oxford plumes above, date and OX below, beaded circles and legend surrounding, .EXVRGAT. DEVS. DISSIPENTVR. INIMICI, smaller lettering than obverse side, weight 117.81g (Brooker 865; Morrieson A-1; N.2402; S.2943). Triple struck on obverse side with associated weaknesses, but consequently giving a very well-defined strike of the cartouche side, a few light rim nicks and bruises, metal impurity flaw in obverse field with pleasing dark tone and a good provenance, good very fine but practically as struck, very rare, has been graded and slabbed by PCGS as XF40.

PCGS certification 868426.40/35764244 with "Ex J.J. Pittman Coll." cited on label.

This silver Twenty Shillings or silver Pound was struck at the Oxford Mint where Charles I had moved his capital from London after the Battle of Edgehill, to the Royalist Universities of the City of Oxford; where he made a state entrance on 29th October 1642. The King lived at Christ Church, with the Queen installed at Merton; the Royalist Parliament met in the Upper Schools and Great Convocation House; the Privy Council at Oriel; and the Mint worked at New Inn Hall from the 3rd January 1642/3.

These coins are the largest British hammered coin ever made weighing in at near 120 grams and were made from donated silver plate from the colleges and silver mined at Aberystwyth. This large denomination, and its smaller companion denominations were used to pay the Army to boost morale, with certain denominations being given to the various ranks within the army hierarchy. Regular soldiers would have received a Halfcrown, their superiors a silver Crown, the next rank up a silver Half-Pound and finally the highest ranks of the army the silver Pound. The costs of war were huge and Charles let it be known that the pay for his army was greater than that of the Parliamentarians, as cavalrymen for Parliament received two shillings a day, whereas Royalist cavalrymen received a Halfcrown, (Maurice Bull, Charles I Halfcrowns volume III, page 5).

As a further morale booster, if the viewer of the coin was literate and knew their Latin, the abbreviated legends translate as on obverse "Charles by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland," and on the reverse the cartouche Declaration, as Charles I gave to the Privy Council at Wellington, Shropshire on 19th September 1642 as "The Religion of the Protestants, the Laws of England, the Liberty of Parliament" which when shown in full Latin should read "Religio Protestantium Leges Angliae Libertas Parliamenti," the outer legend translates as "Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered," a Psalm from the Bible. OX for the City of Oxford is shown below the date.

Provenance:
Ex Cumberland Clark, Charles I coins and Medals, Sotheby, 22nd January 1914, lot 61, sold for £11/10/-.
Ex Lt. Col. Henry Walters Morrieson, Sotheby, 20th November 1933, lot 405, sold for £25.
Ex Seaby Coin and Medal Bulletin, March 1951 offered at £55.
Ex John Jay Pittman Collection, David Akers of Florida, 6-8th August 1999, lot 3738.

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Price realized --
Starting price 35'000 GBP
Estimate 50'000 GBP
The auction is closed.
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