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Sale 53
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Lot 2602
Great Britain. 5 Guineas, 1705. S-3560; Fr-317; KM-520.2. Queen Anne, 1702-1714. Draped bust of Queen left. Reverse: Pre-Union type crowned cruciform shields, ornamental sceptres in angles, rose at center, lettered edge +DECVS ET TVTAMEN ANNO QVARTO. Sharply struck with prooflike surfaces, attractively toned. An exceptional specimen and very rare.
Historical note: Mirror surfaces are unusual on five guineas, and on this delightful specimen they bring out the sharp engraving qualities to produce real eye appeal. The queen's portrait is certainly remarkable here, as well as rather lifelike. In fact, Anne was a portly lady, weighing in at some 350 pounds, much of it gained while producing her numerous children (seventeen, none of whom, sadly, outlived her despite her weight). But this coin should be of interest for a reason having little to do with the remarkable regal portrait it exhibits. It was minted in the year following the famous Battle of Blenheim, one of the truly landmark modern British battles and the first confrontation of the Marlborough Campaign. It cemented the permanence of the rule, and it created a bond between the queen and the Churchill family which was one of the more astonishing alliances between a royal family and a military family in human history. The Duke of Marlborough, who led the campaign, was married to Sarah Churchill, who was Queen Anne's closest confidant, and the queen's gratitude to the Churchills remains today in physical form - Blenheim, the estate of that family given to them in perpetuity by Anne in gratitude for their numerous services and loyalty to the Crown. That, however, is a mere numismatic date fixation. It's this coin's reverse which sets its place in the historical record, for it was the Union of the sovereign lands of the kingdom, in 1707, which finally ensured that Queen Anne's reign would become one of the richest in British history: the nation's monetary wealth increased greatly in these years, and with it came a cultural wealth which has come to define the land and its people to this day. This coin is in fact something of an irony, for it was struck using the old-style reverse insignia, that used prior to the Act of Union, and yet it was made of rich gold garnered out of such military triumphs as the Battle of Blenheim and other successful campaigns waged under Anne's aegis. Only at certain rare moments in history do events come together to produce such a lasting influence, enshrined in a stunning golden memento! NGC graded AU-58 Prooflike, Our grade is Choice Brilliant Proof.
One of the finest of all Queen Anne 5 Guineas, its lengthy pedigree which is unusual for British Milled coins reflects this.
Estimated Value $40,000 - 50,000.
Ex: R. Huth, Sotheby 4 April 1927 Lot 161; Baldwin called it Proof; and S.A.H.Whetmore, Glendining 24 March 1943 (3) catalogue describes coin as Proof: Ex: D'Amelia Spink 91 Sale, 1st May, 1992 Lot 71; The "Sylvia" Collection, through Mark Rasmussen by private treaty.
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| Realized $143,750 |
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