Lot 2181
Great Britain. Gold Touch Piece, ND. Charles II. BMI-86. Holed. St Michael killing a dragon on the obverse and a ship in full sail on the reverse. Used in 'touching' ceremonies, where those who suffered from scrofula were brought to be cured. This is a fine example of a gold coin which was symbolically holed. Normally seen in somewhat lower grades. NGC graded AU-55.
Not everything is as it seems, particularly in numismatics. For most collectors, a holed coin is seen as damaged, to be avoided, and if bought then bought cheaply as a filler until a better example can be located. Holed English gold coins are, indeed, sometimes nothing but damaged goods. However, a class of coins exists for which the hole has meaning, and the coin is seen as a special class of memento whose value is not diminished by having a hole in it. In fact, without a hole the coin would be "nothing but a coin."
This is the famous "touch piece," an example of which is the present lot and lot 2219 as well. Not much has been published about this item, mainly brief comments repeated by subsequent writers. It can in fact be any kind of gold coin but is usually a gold angel. Spink lists such an item as their #2687 without note. Josset stated "The gold coins were made of crown gold except for the angels, of which a small number were struck in standard gold for the ceremony of 'Touching of the King's Evil'. The angels served both the Tudors and the Stuarts at this ceremony, when the coins were hung by the sovereign around the necks of the sick. The ceremony was believed to have been started by Edward the Confessor in 1058, when he was supposed to have healed by touch a woman affected by scrofula, which was afterwards known as King's disease." Sutherland believed that angels were made during the reign of Charles I mainly for this ceremony. Brooke implied that the angel as a denomination was created as a sort of "holy coin" specifically for this purpose, a neat idea but it does not explain the existence of "angelets" or fractions, nor the large mintages of angels in the middle ages. As in many cases, the fame of this coin outshines its factual beginning, and "touch pieces" have been a desirable collectible in England for centuries.
Estimated Value $700 - 900.
The Cheshire Collection.
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| Realized $661 |
