The ‘Welsh Marches’ Collection of British Coins

Charles I (1625-1649), Tower mint, Tower mint, Halfcrown, Gp II/I mule, mm heart, second horseman left, rose on housing, no ground line, plume above square-topped shield, 14.67g/5h (Bull 76/7; SCBI Brooker 295-6; N 2204; S 2768). Some circular scratch marks in obverse field, otherwise nearly very fine, extremely rare; one of a few surviving examples of this brief transitional issue
£3,000-£3,600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The ‘Welsh Marches’ Collection of British Coins.

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Provenance: V.J.E. Ryan Collection Part II, Glendining Auction, 22-4 January 1952, lot 1088; R. Carlyon-Britton Collection; with Seaby 1959; E. Burstal Collection, Glendining Auction, 15-16 May 1968, lot 267; T.W.J.D. Dupree Collection; P. Hunt Collection; C. Adams Collection, Spink Auction 177, 1 December 2005, lot 82.

The scratches in the obverse field, which appear to have been made with a compass, do not affect the King or horse and seem to have been applied to the blank before the coin was struck. The cataloguer of the Adams collection points out similar marks on the reverse of a 1642 Oxford halfcrown, stating in his footnote “The diesinker’s compass marks for centralizing the reverse design can still be seen as faint raised lines in the declaration”. On the other hand, the lines on this specimen appear to be incuse

Tower mint