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Lot 3285
Great Britain. 'Jubilee Head' Pattern Sovereign, 1880. W&R-326 variety; KM-PnB118. Silver 4.65 grams. Edge plain, struck en medaille. Obverse, crowned portrait of Queen by Joachim E. Boehm to left, veiled and draped with broad crown, wearing a necklace and cross; legend VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F:D: Reverse, St George and Dragon by B. Pistrucci, no B P in exergue, edge plain, struck en medaille with plain edge. Made at the Royal Mint. The coin has full proof fields and gorgeous royal blue toning tinged with mauve at the peripherary. This coin surfaced quite recently in London, where its true importance was not immediately realised. Unique. NGC graded Proof 64.
This coin is the first ever pattern for J.E. Boehm's 'Jubilee head' portrait, and it is unique. Krause lists the coin as 'one known.,' and whereas 'English Pattern Trial and Proof Coins in Gold' by Wilson & Rasmussen has 3 'Jubilee head' pattern Sovereigns in gold (by Boehm) for the dates 1881, 1883 and 1885 - # 326, 327, 328 - there is no mention of a pattern Jubilee Sovereign made as early as 1880 in either silver or gold.
The Victorian 'Jubilee head' effigy by J Edgar Boehm was probably the most controversial yet iconic coinage portrait in British history. The effigy of the Queen eventually adopted for use on the silver and gold coins of 1887-1892 showed Victoria wearing a tiny crown which many felt gave the appearance of slipping off the back of her head! Yet, ironically, a full 7 years earlier in 1880, Boehm had begun his design work for the new coinage, and we can see from this very special Sovereign that he had originally intended the crown to be larger.
In the mid-1970s some correspondence was discovered in a locked box in the basement of the old Royal Mint at Tower Hill. Contained among the papers were letters from C.W. Fremantle, the deputy master of the mint and many of these letters were about the new Jubilee design.
In February 1879 it appears that Victoria's private secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby told Fremantle that J Edgar Boehm (sculptor to the royal family and son of the director of the Imperial Mint in Vienna) had been instructed to produce a new coinage portrait in time for the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1887. Queen Victoria herself recorded in her journal that she sat for Boehm in June 1979.
Boehm was uncertain about the correct shape of the crown, and there was some correspondence in early 1880 over the preferred style. He made some drawings, together with some wax models, and these were shown to the Queen and her daughter Princess Louise. There is evidence that by early July 1880 the first pattern coin had been struck, and it is almost certainly this important silver Sovereign.
An unimaginable number of delays ensued. Boehm was anxious about his eyesight and refused to work by gaslight during the intense London fog of the period. It seems that Boehm was also involved in more lucrative work over the next few years (the production of statues, medals etc) and he put the coin design on 'the back burner.' Various patterns (by Boehm) exist for 1882 through to 1886, but most received criticism from the Queen, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and others. Finally Fremantle wrote in early 1886 that Boehm was putting the finishing touches to his design and he sought authority to pay him the princely sum of 200 guineas (£210 or around $320) for his years of work!
Boehm's final (modified) coinage portrait eventually adorned the national coinage in 1887 - the first major portrait change in fifty years - but it was not well received, and there was much criticism of the new small crown perched on Victoria's head. Sadly, Boehm's design was replaced by Thomas Brock's 'Old Head' portrait on all UK coinage after 6 years, whereas Wyon's 'young head' portrait of Victoria had had a lifespan of 50 years. If only Boehm's original portrait, seen on this pattern, had been used for the Jubilee coinage, things may have been different.
Estimated Value $15,000-UP.
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| Realized $14,688 |
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