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Auction: 22005 - British and World Coins - Spring Auction
Lot: 102

Charles II (1660-1685), 'Royal African Company', Guinea, 1680, Elephant and Castle, fourth laureate head right, E&C below, rev. crowned garnished shield, emblem-adorned sceptres in angles, five strings to harp, obliquely milled edge, 8.38g, 6h (MCE 84; Farey 215; EGC 274; Spink 3345; Montagu -; Murdoch -; LCA 151, 5 December 2015, lot 2479 same dies), die break through top of Irish shield, and minor flecking and nailmarks, otherwise residually lustrous, near very fine, excessively rare and very seldom offered, absent from the Montagu, Murdoch, Fletcher and Whetmore collections to name but a few

The exceptional rarity of this variety is illustrated by the extraordinary infrequency of its appearance in the Seaby Bulletin. Only March 1957 (G360 - good F - £16.0.0); and December 1986 (GG416 - nearly F, small raised flaw on rev. - £450) can be traced by this cataloguer, despite the variety being documented by Edward Hawkins in the Numismatic Chronicle of 1851 from the British Museum Collection (pp. 45-49, no. 56). Equally sparce are the records for the Spink Numismatic Circular, with August-September 1952 (no. 8277 - VF - £12.10.0); and November 1954 returning the only traceable listings (no. 9296 - 'VF-EF - £15.0.0'). The standard catalogue value would at present appear not to truly reflect the extreme difficulty experienced in sourcing this date and variety, especially in unadulterated or higher grades of collectability.

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Sold for
£6,000

Starting price
£2000