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Auction: 23005 - The "Haddenham" Collection of English Coins
Lot: 550

The 'Haddenham' Collection of English Coins | Charles I (1625-1649), Group II, Type 2b1, Welsh 'Plumes' Crown, 23 June 1630 - 30 June 1631, Tower (under King), (m.m.) • CAROLVS • D.' G.' MAG.' BRIT.' FRA.' ET • HIB.' REX ••:•• smaller second horseman King trotting left, plume on headdress, sword over right shoulder to right of A, cross on housing, no ground line, rev. •:• CHRISTO ••:•• AVSPICE ••:•• REGNO •:• (m.m.) •:• oval garnished shield, dividing C-R and smaller plume above, 30.84g [475.8grns], 6h, m.m. plume (Hawkins 2b2; Francis 2b [no. 15, and sale lot 106 this coin]; FRC X/XIII [sale lot 57]; Brooker 243 same dies; Barr 31; North 2192; Spink 2756), evenly circulated, otherwise richly cabinet toned with traces of red wax in recesses left from when Francis illustrated the coin for the BNJ in 1916, hints of underlying lustre in recesses, only fine / very fine with a great pedigree to Nottingham's real life 'Scarlet Pimpernel'

Provenance

T Mathews, by private treaty, 1985 - £685




John William Gaze [1868-1936], of Beeston (Notts), Glendining, 22-23 May 1935, lots 281-331, this coin not listed, however the re-appearance of further 'Gaze' Crowns in the Paget and Lingford collections outside of this listing suggests that the collection was cherry-picked and possibly bought en bloc prior to auction by Messrs. Baldwin with first refusal given to their clientele

Grant R. Francis, Glendining, 24 March 1920, lot 106 - fine, and a rare variety - £2.12.6 [Gaze]



G R Francis, BNJ (1916), 'Silver Coins of the Tower Mint of Charles, Part One: The Crowns', pp. 181-194 and Pls. I-V, and Pl. II, Fig. 4 this coin



John William Gaze is a name almost entirely erased from the consciousness of the numismatic collecting community thanks largely due to the obscurity of a plateless and provenanceless catalogue of his collection in an inter-war years sale held at Glendining. However his interest in Crowns and Jacobean gold is testified in the Spink library notations for the Grant R Francis and W B Thorpe sales at the same house in 1920/1921. Having sourced the majority of his collection from these two dispersals, and with no relevant association with the Royal or British Numismatic Societies, his greater distinctions would come in his working life. His surprisingly untold story is one of remarkable charity; and inspirational war effort through his pioneering fundraising and advocacy of 'National Flower Days' to raise comforts for the troops. Surprisingly his flower was not the Poppy as popularised from 1921 by Earl Haig, but 'anagallis arvensis' - the scarlet pimpernel - artificially mass produced by disabled Nottinghamshire children for distribution nationally. He would also successfully petition the Admiralty to introduce a 'War Service Badge' for essential workers - a policy that was adopted in December 1914. No wonder this glowing festschrift of his life was penned in the Beeston Gazette and Echo (Saturday, 14 March 1931) :-


"In the days of your youth, however, you had other interests besides the development of an ingenious invention. You displayed considerable skill as a tennis player, and the records of your club games while you were in Essex show that you played with a consistent success, and attained the distinction of being elected captain of the North End Tennis Club. Cricket also claimed your allegiance, and you were for several years a playing member of the Notts Unity Cricket Club.



You must however, recall with especial pleasure your early experiences as an amateur actor, when you were a member of the Athenian Dramatic Company, whose activities centred in Upton Park. Many plays of that type would now be called old-fashioned were presented by the Athenians, including 'Called Back' and 'Mr. Barnes of New York'. In these plays you generally had an important part, and sometimes acted as producer and stage manager as well.



You have been for many years an ardent member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, having joined the Hutchinson Lodge (no. 1250) at Beeston. Your advancement in that order has been noteworthy. In 1919, you were Supreme Grand Master of Buffaloes (AKA 'The Buffs') throughout the world, and since then you have been elected year by year for ten years as Grand Treasurer of the Order, a position of no little responsibility.



During the war you took a leading part in organising the 'scarlet pimpernel' collections by means of which £10,600 was raised for the provision of 18 ambulances that were sent to the front. For your part in that highly creditable achievement you were presented with a gold jewel by the Mayor of Nottingham."



This last act is confirmed in the Nottingham Evening Post (Saturday 19 April 1916) :-


"Amongst the many efforts made to ameliorate the horrors of war must be ranked the scheme by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, who by means of street collections, are providing motor ambulances for service at the front. The variety of badge adopted for sale is the scarlet pimpernel, many thousands of which were being worn in Nottingham and the district to-day. These were the product of the local artificial flower industry, and displayed a very pretty taste in design and execution.


and again in the Beeston Gazette and Echo (Saturday, 1 February 1919) :-



"At a Grand Lodge Meeting, of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes held at Worcester, last Saturday, Mr. J. W. Gaze of Beeston, was installed as Grand Prime for all England.


Mr Gaze is well known in Beeston and district being the Managing Director of the Angular Works, where he originated the ring plug for shells, which saved the country a big sum for transport expenses, and also considerable time in handling them.



At the outset of the war he designed the 'Scarlet Pimpernel' Red Cross flower, which resulted in nearly £9,000 being raised for the purpose of purchasing motor ambulances for the Army. They have proved of great service in removing the wounded, and as a slight acknowledgement of his services in this direction, the Mayor of Nottingham, on behalf of the Buffaloes, presented Mr. Gaze with a gold jewel on 15 November 1917.



It might be mentioned that it was Mr. Gaze who originated the idea of the badge scheme, which was submitted to Mr. Winston Churchill, and later adopted for all war workers."



Having been so involved in the war effort, it is perhaps no surprise that the return to peace saw Gaze's interest in the English Civil War develop. There is a distinct poignancy to his collecting specie of Charles I. As a veteran of the horrors of conflict, Gaze evidently saw comfort in the study and understanding of a similar event in the annals of British history. The traditions of 'Scarlet Pimpernel Day' continued in Nottingham long after the national adoption of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, with the later fundraising efforts channelled towards giving deprived local children short holiday breaks to neighbouring Skegness. As a man of little renown today, and thanks only to Francis' foresight in 1916, the possibility of tracing any other coin to his collection is exceedingly remote - as such this coin is likely to remain one of the few certifiable legacies of a remarkable individual turned coin collector, and Nottingham's real life 'Scarlet Pimpernel'.

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Sold for
£1,800

Starting price
£320