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Foreign Coins and Medals, Malta, John de la Vallette (1557-1568), silver 2 tari, undated, arms of the Grand Master quartered with those of the Order, rev. head of St. John on a charger with base, wt. 5.76gms. (RS.83), surface scratches on obverse and reverse, toned, very fine and rare *ex Restelli Collection, NAC Zurich Auction 58, April 2011, lot 95 ex Carlo Crippa, Milan 1960s
British Coins and Medals, Victoria, proof crown in pure silver, 1847, edge plain, ‘Gothic’ bust l., rev. crowned cruciform shields (S.3883; ESC.291A [R6]; Bull 2580), nearly as struck, a brilliant Proof with reflective surfaces showing scattered abrasions but almost none touching the portrait, with a blush of delicate pinkish gold toning Very little is known or has been recorded about this unusual piece, struck not in the standard silver alloy but in nearly pure silver, which surely accounts for the noted abrasions in a softer metal than was the norm: doubtless mistaken over the years for the usual Gothic issue, and consequently not well handled when being examined. In English Silver Coinage, Alan Rayner simply noted that it was made for presentation purposes, giving no other detail. But was it really? Was it more likely a trial striking made to test the alloy? The rarity rating of R6 suggests that only 3 or 4 pieces are known. If this was in fact made for VIPs, wouldn’t there be more? If a trial piece, that sounds about right. Lacking documents, we will likely never know for certain. Of course, the crown preceded the Gothic-style florin, first struck in 1851, bearing the obverse legend of the crown but with the date not moved to the reverse, as on the crown. And here we encounter a curious controversy that may, possibly, have begun with the legend used on the crown, where the national name in Latin is abbreviated just slightly, so as to fit the space. On the florin, this was further abbreviated to just ‘brit’ for 1851, then changed to ‘britt’ beginning in 1868. Again, space did not permit the name in full. But the first abbreviation used on the florin was technically incorrect, as C. E. Challis points out (A New History of the Royal Mint, page 511): ‘Wyon had had to proceed under the watchful supervision of the queen and the prince consort, and visits to Osborne and Buckingham Palace had been necessary before the queen gave her approval. On one point there was later public controversy: the doubling of the T of BRITT in the inscription on the obverse. Here the classical scholarship of the chancellor himself had saved the Mint from error, but lesser minds failed to understand the application of the Latin rule that the final consonant of an abbreviation should be doubled when necessary to indicate the plural.’ Victoria’s bronzes first struck in 1860 all use the proper BRITT abbreviation. The two versions appear only within the Gothic florin series, and the legends are perfectly proportional on the Gothic crowns, but at some time beginning in the late 1840s the ‘controversy’ briefly occurred. Was young Victoria part of it? Was Prince Albert? Both provided ‘watchful supervision’, Challis declared. Was this ‘pure silver’ Gothic crown one of the VIP pieces shown to the royal couple? Was it a trial piece specially minted in pure silver for their inspection? Could it be that Victoria herself held this very coin, upon which her approval rested? After all, she was the ultimate VIP.
British Coins and Medals, George III, pattern crown in silver, 1817, by William Wyon, the ‘Incorrupta’, draped laur. head r., date below, rev. crowned shield of arms, with Latin legend INCORRUPTA FIDES VERITASQUE (‘An Untarnished Faith’) surrounding, edge plain (ESC.229 [R4]; Bull 2029; L&S.159), certified and graded by PCGS as Proof 65, evenly toned in shades of russet grey, a couple of ancient shallow nicks on the king’s cheek, otherwise close to FDC, very rare and a classic British crown Named for the first word of the legend on its reverse, which features an unusually bold and crisp image of the royal shield, this is one of a pair of classic patterns conceived and engraved by William Wyon, who at the time was an under-engraver at the Royal Mint. Linecar and Stone comment rightfully that the large shield of arms occupying the centre of the reverse of this coin bears more than a little resemblance to the shield engraved in the middle of the seventeenth century by Thomas Simon. It also broke the tradition of a cruciform royal crest seen during much of the previous two centuries on crowns. Wyon’s portrait of the aged king was also an extraordinary feat of engraving. It differs from his portrait engraved for the Three Graces crown, which is simpler and sharper looking, but here we see King George perhaps a bit more lifelike and wearing an elegant drape around his neck. Curiously, while the lengthy obverse legend fits perfectly around the portrait on the Three Graces coin, here it seems a bit ‘busy’ and, as Linecar and Stone point out, it ends buried in the king’s drapery: this is unusual, they describe, ‘bearing in mind the mathematical accuracy of the designs of William Wyon which set a standard rarely equalled before or since his time’. But the design was not accepted, and in the following year, 1818, a simpler and more compact portrait was mated with Pistrucci’s St. George motif, to produce 5-shilling coins for commerce. The issued coin appeared for a scant three years, when the king suffered most from his mental imbalance; he passed away probably never having seen examples of his ‘New Coinage’ and surely never having laid eyes upon any of Wyon’s majestic patterns. *ex F Willis, Glendidning 7/10.1991, Lot 465 Dr. Rees Jones, Spnk 19/11/1996, Lot 200
Foreign Coins and Medals, Egypt, The Opening of the Suez Canal, large silver medal of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez, 1869, by Louis-Oscar Roty (1846–1911), draped figures of Labour offering a jar to the seated Commerce who holds aloft a torch, distant aerial panorama of the canal beyond, rev. legends, named cartouche on oak spray: THOMAS SUTHERLAND MP ADMINISTRATEUR, Sphinx and pyramid below, 60mm., extremely fine with rich grey tone *ex Glendinings, 26 March 1942, lot 157 ex Baldwin’s vault Sir Thomas Sutherland (1834-1922) was MP for Greenock between 1884 and 1890, thus dating the medal to those years. He started working for P & O SNCo in 1852 at the age of 18 and was sent East in 1854 to Bombay. He soon moved on to Hong Kong and by the time he was 26 years of age he had become superintendent of P & O’s Japan and China agencies, and had been appointed a member of the Hong Kong legislative assembly. It was whilst he was P & O’s Agent that, in 1864-65, he formed the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank [HSBC] - the first bank in China. He served as a director on its provisional board, then deputy chairman. He was recalled to London in 1866, where he worked his way up in P & O and was appointed Chairman in 1880, retiring in 1915. As a member of parliament he played a key part in the development of the Suez Canal. His discussions led to the ‘London programme’, which ‘conceded the main demands of the shipowners: a British committee based in London to deal with canal problems’ and ‘seven British directors selected from the shipping and mercantile communities’. He was appointed a director of the Suez Canal Company and in 1903 became one of three vice-presidents. He was created a KCMG in 1891 and a GCMG in 1897, and became a knight of the Order of St John and a member of the Légion d’Honneur. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the City of London, and the University of Aberdeen honoured him with an LLD in 1892.
Irish Coins, Ireland, George II, proof farthing, 1737, struck in silver, laureate bust l., reads GEORGIUS, rev. crowned harp, date below (S.6608; D&F.559), a hint of double-striking on reverse with ghosted numerals to date, good extremely fine, steel grey tone, extremely rare With old dealer’s ticket.
A PAIR OF SILVER-PLATED HELMET-SHAPED SAUCE BOATS, each with scroll handle and three pad feet; another small plated gravy boat; a pair of serpentine shaped oval silver plated entree dishes, covers and handles; a rectangular silver plated entree dish cover and handle; and another oval ditto with bead edge. (7)
A 19TH CENTURY LONG CASE CLOCK FACE, the arched dial with moon phases and shipping scenes, above circular dial with Roman numerals, painted with castles and large houses to the spandrels; another similar by Armstrong of Manchester, with silver moon phases to the arch and river landscapes, Roman numerals, subsidiary dial for seconds and date aperture, both 20in (51cm)h x 14in (34cm)w. (1)
A PAIR OF SILVER PLATED BALUSTER SHAPED, SPIRAL REEDED TABLE CANDLESTICKS, each 11.25" (28.5cm) high; together with a plated punch bowl with stag-head handles; a cased pair of silver plated fish servers with ornate handles and pierced blade and prongs; and a rectangular two-handled silver-plate and monogrammed tray, 20" (51cm) wide. (6)
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2475480 item(s)/page