A gold sovereign from the era of Henry VII was the lead item at Spink's September 24 Indian, Islamic, British and Anglo-Gallic coins auction, selling for £28,000 ($45,029).
The coin dates from 1485-1509 and was minted on the order of King Henry VII (1457-1509). The sovereign was designed to be more valuable than any coin that had come before it, and was made from 23 carat gold.
 The coin dates from 1485-1509 |
The front shows the king in full regalia, crowned and carrying an orb and sceptre, while the reverse shows the royal shield enveloped by the Tudor rose.
A Henry VIII sovereign (1509-1547) featuring much of the same details as the earlier coin also performed well, selling for £27,000 ($43,421) - well over its estimate of £15,000-20,000 ($24,123-32,149). The coin featured a light hairline crack but was otherwise in excellent condition.
All of the top selling lots were British - A Queen Mary sovereign (1553-1554) made £19,000 ($30,555), while a James II five guinea piece (1685-1688) achieved £18,000 ($28,885).
A rare Charles I half-crown dating to the English civil war, described as possibly the finest known example, sold for £10,000 ($16,042).
We have a wide range of rare coins available, including this extremely rare emergency issue Charles I shilling that dates to 1645, and was minted in the city of Carlisle while it was under siege during the English civil war.
Please sign up to our free weekly newsletter for more from the world of coins and collectibles.
