Lot 411
Great Britain. Bank of England Dollar (5 Shillings), 1804. S-3768; Dav-101; Cr-41. Plain edge. George III, 1760-1820. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Reverse: Britannica seated left, holding branch and shield, with shield resting on cornucopia, beehive at left; all within Garter frame surmounted by mural crown. A gem coin, sharply struck with lustrous fields beneath lightly iridescent gold and russet toning. Rare in this condition. NGC graded MS-65.
Britain's continuing conflicts with France and Spain in the 18th century seriously impinged on the flow of silver, mostly in the form of Mexican and Peruvian dollars (8 reales), into the country. This drove up the price of silver within England, which encouraged hoarding, which in turn further exacerbated her silver famine. The silver crisis finally was reversed by the end of the century when the foreign dollars once more poured into Britain. However, their price was still too high for them to be recoined along old English monetary standards. Thus they were allowed to circulate as they were, some being countermarked by industrial companies at a revalued rate. Meanwhile, quantities began to accumulate in the Bank of England's vaults, where they were being held as bullion. Propping up bank reserves didn't help ameliorate the pinch still felt in public commerce. Eventually by 1797, the government saw fit to initiate its own countermarking program, with the Spanish reales marked at an official rate of 4 shillings, 9 pence. The coins bore a countermarked portrait of George III stamped over the face of Spain's Charles IV. The new issues were accepted by the public with reluctance, and prompted the quip "The Bank, to make their Spanish dollars pass, stamped the head of a fool on the neck of an ass." Finally in 1804, when the Napoleonic Wars were once more constricting silver availability, the Bank of England was authorized to overstrike the Spanish dollars, giving them a rate of 5 shillings. The new coins, a token coinage in actuality, were produced on Boulton and Watt's new steam-operated presses at the Soho Mint, Birmingham. The strength of the striking was such that the original Spanish designs were fairly well obliterated. To enhance public acceptance, the reverse sported a new patriotic design of a seated Britannia flanked by a beehive (a symbol of industriousness) and a cornucopia (standing for abundance, or prosperity). A classic was born!
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500.
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| Realized $3,360 |
