Important British and World Coins

Miscellaneous, The Mint, Birmingham Ltd: Checks (3), in nickel, aluminium and copper, artisan and female artist flanking city arms, the mint, birmingham limited around, revs. coiner to the english & foreign governments around formerly ralph heaton & sons, edges plain, all 25.5mm, 5.63g/12h, 1.68g/12h, 5.57g/12h (Sweeny 24, 25, 26; cf. BDW 6, 1013a) [3]. Copper extremely fine with much original colour, others fine (£20-30)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Joanna Tansley Collection of Patterns, Proofs and Coining Trials.

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The Mint, Birmingham, Ltd. was incorporated on 20 March 1889 to take over Ralph Heaton & Sons as a going concern following the retirement of Ralph Heaton III from the business. These pieces must have been made in 1889 or shortly afterwards, although the aluminium specimen was perhaps made c. 1910, by which time that metal was being seriously considered as a coinage medium. The company changed its name to The Birmingham Mint Ltd on 1 April 1974