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Sale 16
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Lot 2
c.1616 Sommer Islands (Bermuda) Shilling, small sail. PCGS graded EF-40. One of the classic rarities of the colonial series, only a few were known before the advent of metal detectors located several more in the Bermuda Islands. These were struck at the authorization of the Governor Daniel Tucker who was in office for just two years, 1616 to 1618. It is not known who made them, but they were struck using the ancient hammer method. The planchets were thin and seldom round, and silvered lightly to simulate value. Curiously the silvering caused the coins to rapidly corrode, and hence virtually none are known with smooth surfaces or much more than a trace of the original silvering. In particular we note this example is dark brown in color, with a fairly sharp strike. More or less round and well preserved, there are the usual areas of corrosion, but less so than on many others of this issue.
The Sommer Islands were named for Sir George Sommers (or Summers or Somers, all spellings recur) who ended up in the Bermuda Islands during a hurricane which forced his ship the Sea Adventure to seek shelter for repairs in 1609. Sommers left the Islands after the ships were repaired and returned to England, leaving a few sturdy men behind to claim the Islands for England. Those left behind were memorialized in Shakespeare's The Tempest with its allusion to the Islands. Meanwhile, Sommers returned to the Bermuda Islands the next year to bring provisions back to England, however Sommers died while in Bermuda. Thus the Islands were renamed from the Bermuda Islands (also Hogge Islands for the wild pigs on the Island which arrived via a shipwreck in 1532) to the Sommers Islands. In time, the name reverted back to the Bermuda Islands.
The coins depict the wild hog or boar, so many of which were found on the Island, and the reverse likely shows Sommer's flagship. Despite the numbers found in recent years, PCGS has graded a scant 3 so far, one in grades of VG-VF, and two as EF-40, with none higher! Most of those which have been located in the sands of Bermuda are in far worse shape than seen here, and many are corroded nearly beyond recognition. For many years only 2 were known (Crosby) and it wasn't until more recent times that a few dozen have been unearthed. If you demand a relatively attractive example of this rare coin, then bid accordingly as these rarities only turn up when major collections cross the block.
Estimated Value $35,000-UP.
From the Paul Arthur Norris Collection.
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| Realized $33,350 |
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