Lot 2599
Great Britain. Pattern silver Shilling, 1825. George IV Bare Head. Small Lion reverse. ESC-1264: rated R5, Extremely Rare (just 5 to 10 pieces known, in all). Reeded edge (not viewable in the slab). This is the prototype for the coinage which began in 1825 (style as S-3812), but the beautifully trim, smaller lion and the crown he stands upon here, on this pattern, were remodeled for the issued coinage. Thus this reverse is unique to this pattern. It's a classic of its age, the time of the English literary Romantics, Byron and Shelley and Keats, all of whom wrote passionately about derring-do, and Byron was famous for swimming the Hellespont, in the Dardanelles straits. Their writings inspired the entire nation, and surely were a key to the concept of Imperialism which sent the navy around the globe and troops into almost every far corner of the world, in search of conquest. In other words, this period of time set the stage for Queen Victoria's reign, when England resembled ancient Rome as ruler of the world. The coin here offered has beautiful reflective surfaces and a hard gray toning showing iridescent highlights. The strike is deep. Only a few pieces are known. The great Terner Collection contained a PCGS PR66 example, probably the finest known, but this coin is also beautiful and must rank within the top 3 for quality. NGC graded Proof 63.
Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,500.
The Cheshire Collection.
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