Lot 2166
Great Britain. Briot Halfcrown (1638-39). Charles I. 2nd Milled issue. S-2858. Anchor and "B" mintmark on each side. King on horseback. A gleaming, Mint State example of the famous roller-dies produced early experiment in machine-made coinage by Nicholas Briot. This wonderful coin possesses somewhat prooflike fields and is darkly toned in rich silver-gray, with some iridescent highlights. The extraordinary obverse is fully struck, while the shield shows some softness of strike in the top two quadrants (but this is typical). The flans, or planchets, for these tend to show some porosity but this coin has little of that, and its overall impression is stunning! Not quite so fine as the example in our Terner 2 auction a year ago (which in the cataloguer's opinion was undergraded by PCGS at least two points), but no other specimen examined by this writer has equaled the present coin. Extremely rare in this outstanding state of preservation. This coin is so fine that an estimate of its value is difficult; Spink does not price it over VF grade (about $1600). The magnificent example in our Terner 2 sale (lot 1925) realized an astonishing $12,650 but was doubtless the finest known example. This coin has a similar eye-appeal and is distinctly Mint State, and seems to be second in line in terms of quality for the type, which is both elegant and highly historical, so we believe our estimate to be realistic. NGC graded MS-63.
Estimated Value $7,000 - 7,500.
The Cheshire Collection.
|
| |
| Realized $8,050 |
