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Auction: 22109 - The David Hoover Collection of Crowns: 1551-1953
Lot: 2041

(x) NGC AU55 | Charles II (1660-1685), Crown, 1662 [undated], CAROLVS . II DEI GRA ., stop after GRA, first laureate and draped bust right, rose below, rev. stop after HIB, crowned first shields cruciform, ten strings to harp, widely spaced lettered edge upwards, 6h (Broad [1981], Bond [1989], ties BC2; Bull 339/340; ESC 15/15A; Spink 3350), highly sporadic bagmarks in fields only visible under high magnification, once bright and retoned since last auctioned, otherwise an excellent 'presentation piece', near extremely fine with an intriguing die link, in NGC holder, graded AU55 (Cert. #5709668-001)

Provenance
Baldwin, by private treaty, 2019 - 'ESC 15B; Bull 341' - good extremely fine and about as struck, hair detail particularly fine for this issue [ref. C190009122] - £13,500
DNW 151, 14 November 2018, lot 7 - 'bright appearance, about extremely fine' - £5,500
DNW 85, 17 March 2010, lot 507 - 'bright appearance, about extremely fine' - £4,700
https://www.ngccoin.uk/certlookup/5709668-001/55/



Broad and Bond's analysis of the tie arrangements for the 1662 Crowns has suggested a deliberate effort on the part of mint authorities to delineate dies through their individual placement. A multitude of variations exist from 'AA' to 'AB' to 'BC' to indicate whether the ties start on the upper (A), between (B) or lower (C) curls. An examination of presumed 'Proof' or 'Proof Like' strikings such as the fabled Dr Erik Miller (Spink, 26 March 2019, lot 23, ex. Whetmore, Thorpe 1952, Lingford, Webster, Mackerell, Murdoch and Rostron collections) and Glenister II (Spink, 26 March 2014, lot 1628, ex Lingford and Paget collections) intriguingly places these strikings in the BC die category, which by 1989 had only been associated with the 'no stop after HIB, wide edge spacing' (ESC 15). Closer study confirms the obverse die employed for the Miller coin is the same as the present coin. It is conceivable therefore to envisage of this, like that, as a specimen striking of the radical new coinage, otherwise 'struck like a proof' for collectors of the day to account for its considerably above average strike and state of preservation. An equivalent coin was offered in Spink 275, 23 January 2022, lot 58, with an equal placement of die cud in the Irish harp.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Sold for
£7,500

Starting price
£5500