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Auction: 24004 - British and World Coins and Medals Spring Auction
Lot: 135

Commonwealth (1649-1660), Ten-Shilling Piece, Half-Unite or Double-Crown, 1650, Tower, • THE • COMMONWEALTH • OF • ENGLAND •, coat of arms of England, rev. • GOD • WITH • VS •, conjoined shields of England and Ireland, no flanking stops by large V above, 4.52g [69.8grns], 8h, m.m. sun (Schneider II, 349; EGC I, 34 [R3]; North 2717; Spink 3210), small dig to left of obverse shield and traces of metal flaws, otherwise well centered on a neater round flan, hints of lustre in recesses further accentuated with reddish tones, a pleasingly uniform and bold very fine

Provenance

Sovereign Rarities Ltd, by private treaty - £12,500

Sovereign Rarities, Auction 2, 24 September 2019, lot 111 [unsold]

Glenister, Part II, Spink 223, 26 March 2014, lot 1619 - £7,500
[with Spink dealer's ticket and stock code: 13035, stating:]
Spink, by private treaty, after September 1941 - £8.10.0

Sugden collection, purchased en bloc by Spink, 14 September 1941



The war years at Spink resulted in a reduction in the print size and content of the Numismatic Circular, such that the following advert ran for all issues between 1940 and 1945 - "As present conditions make it impracticable to continue the Numismatic Circular, we propose, until the return of better times, to issue this NUMISMATIC CIRCULAR LIST, of which the subscription price is 2s 6d per annum, due January 1st". At least six 1650 Double-Crowns listings occur in the Circular during this period, an example evidently from a specialist collection in October 1940 (no. 3921) described as 'brilliant, F.D.C.' - priced at £6.10.0, followed by a second in June 1942 (no. 15362), described as VF and priced at £7.10.0. In October 1943, a third surfaced described as "plugged, and the engraver altered the sun into a shell, V.F", for £6.10.0 - and evidently not the present specimen. A fourth was listed in October 1944 (no. 27097) again graded as 'V.F.' and priced at £7.0.0. The fifth occurs in February 1945 (no. 29223), graded at E.F. and priced at £7.10.0. Finally the sixth appears in the month of Victory in Europe, May 1945 (no. 30741) - where an example graded as simply 'F' is listed at a whopping £10.0.0.



Incidentally, a seventh would be listed later that same year (December 1945, no. 34899), graded 'V.F.' and priced at £10.10.0. Not only does this show the inflationary impact of the Second World War on numismatic prices, but helps us to further pin down the dating of this Spink ticket, which like the "White Rose" collection, must date to the 1941-1945 period. Sadly unlike with the Ancient Inventory stock list, the English stock book no longer survives to provide further details for the otherwise unknown Mr or Mrs Sugden.

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Sold for
£5,500

Starting price
£6000