Coins, Paper Money, Tokens and Historical Medals

Ireland, Free State, Pattern Shilling, 1927, by P. Morbiducci, in bronze, harp, stamped prova, rev. bull right, edge plain, 4.95g/6h (Brady, SNC June 1976, p.238, this specimen not listed; S –; DF –; KM. –). Virtually as struck with considerable original brilliance, of the highest rarity £4,000-5,000

Provenance: From the artist to the vendor’s grandfather in Italy before World War II, and by descent.

From the same source as the halfcrown and threepence sold in these rooms, 8 June 2016. The patterns entered by the Roman sculptor Publio Morbiducci (1889-1963) for the competition to design Ireland’s new money in 1928, in which he was ultimately unsuccessful, have, as Gerard Brady stated, ‘an ageless character and beauty.’ Struck by the Milanese medallists Lorioli Castelli (now Lorioli Fratelli), the precise numbers of pieces which exist are uncertain, although the best previously published estimates were by Brady in 1976. At that time, Brady did not know of any specimens in bronze