Colonial Column: MAY – JUNE 2024

Welcome to May and June of 2024!

These two months have been ‘business as usual’ and quite busy – with most of June being out of Australia in both London for the London Coin Fair on the 1st of June and in Hong Kong for the HKINF between 19th to the 21st of June.

Instagram post: Peter and Charles at the London Coin Fair June 2024

Instagram post: Peter and Charles at the HKINF June 2024

As always, we handle plenty of great pieces of numismatics and this Colonial Column works as a showcase for recent items we’ve sold – below are a few we have sold in the past two months.

British Empire, Australia, King George V (1910-1936 AD), Half Sovereign banknote, 1928, signed by Commonwealth Bank Governor Sir Ernest C. Riddle KBE and Secretary of the Treasury James T. Heathershaw CBE. Serial Number B15 371309. Renniks-7. An excellent example, a centre-fold, otherwise a natural note with limited circulation, near Uncirculated.

SKU: BN1A-4

Sold for $3,200.00

British Commonwealth, Australia, Queen Elizabeth II (1952-2022 AD), Ten Dollar Star banknote, last prefix, 1967, signed by Reserve Bank Governor Herbert Coombs and Secretary of the Treasury Sir Richard J. Randall. Serial number ZSE 34168✱. Renniks-302sL. A fresh note with decent body, very slight handling with bends, otherwise very attractive, Extremely Fine, rare.

SKU: BN1F-9

Sold for $3,910.00

British Commonwealth, Australia, Queen Elizabeth II (1952-2022 AD), One Pound Star banknote, 1953, signed by Reserve Bank Governor Herbert C. Coombs and Secretary of the Treasury Sir Roland Wilson CBE. Serial number HE89 52084✱. Renniks-34bs. A decent example Reserve bank issue pound star note, seen some circulation, good Fine to near Very Fine.

SKU: BN1D-15

Sold for $690.00

Victoria of the House of Hanover, Queen of the United Kingdom 1837-1901 AD, Gold Five Pounds (39.93g, 36mm), 1887, Royal mint, London. Marsh-F30. Calendar year mintage of 53,844. Typical minor hairlines and contact marks, otherwise bold in detail, a nice currency strike, good Extremely Fine.

SKU: ECM-174

Sold for $6,500.00

Republic of New Granada, Columbia, Gold Eight Escudos (26.94g, 37mm), 1832 RS, Bogotá mint. KM-82.1. Of typical strike for the type, a nice, honest example and quite attractive in hand, Extremely Fine for the type.

SKU: WC-426

Sold for $4,350.00

Spanish Empire, Peru, Charles IV of the House of Bourbon, King of Spain 1788-1808 AD, Gold Eight Escudos (26.91g, 35mm), 1800 IJ, Lima mint. KM-101. Minor obverse adjustments and contact marks each side, typical flatness of strike on reverse, a lightly toned, modest example, near Very Fine.

SKU: WC-430

Sold for $3,500.00

British Empire, Australia, Queen Victoria (1837-1901 AD), Gold Sovereign (7.97g, 22mm), 1868, Type II, Royal mint Sydney branch. Bentley-651; McDonald-115; Marsh-373; Friedberg-10; KM-4. Calendar year mintage 3,521,000. Typical minor marks, evenly worn, the reverse a bit better, near Very Fine. 

SKU: ACPD1SM-15

Sold for $1,100.00

Charles I of the House of Stuart, King of England 1625-1649 AD, Silver Half Crown (14.91g, 35mm), Group 3a1, initial mark Bell 1634-1635 AD, Tower mint, London under the authority of the King. North-2209; Spink-2773. Small areas of roughness and some flatness of strike, struck on a round flan and with a decent horseman and shield of arms, lightly toned with some rainbow shades, near Very Fine. 

SKU: ECH-50

Sold for $475.00

Dutch Republic, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, Gold Ducat, 1729, Utrecht mint. Delmonte-963; Fr-284; KM-7.4. Certified and graded by PCGS as Mint State 62. Typical die work of the Utrecht mint for the period, a splendid piece despite flatness of strike, of note – the offered piece is without any known provenance but is the same year as the well-known Vliegenthart shipwreck hoard.

SKU: ACP2-16

Sold for $1,500.00

Holy Roman Empire, Free Imperial City of Regensburg, Francis I of the House of Lorraine, Holy Roman Emperor 1745-1765 AD, Silver Conventionsthaler (28.03g, 42mm), 1754, ‘City-view’ issue, Regensburg mint, under mint master Johann Christoph Busch. Davenport-2618b; KM-371. Appears very lightly polished in the past although has since re-toned with a nice steel grey patina, a highly collectible city-view issue thaler struck in the year of the Konventionsfuß, details good Very Fine or a bit better. 

SKU: WC-424

Sold for $800.00

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty 54-68 AD, Silver Denarius (3.15g, 17mm), Rome mint 64-65 AD. RIC-53; RSC-119. Struck a touch off-centre each side although with basically full naming on obverse, the portrait quite admirable and typically veristic for Nero’s numismatic issues, a nice example for the type, Very Fine, reverse near Very Fine. 

SKU: ARI-331

Sold for $1,250.00

British East India Company, the Madras Presidency, Silver Half Pagoda (20.75g, 35mm), Madras mint 1808-1812 AD. Stevens-3.129 (L/VII). Some typical minor underlying hairlines, otherwise nicely toned and the design fully present, a popular type, near Very Fine or virtually so.

SKU: IC2-10

Sold for $1,152.00

Holy Roman Empire, Saxon Circle, Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Heinrich Julius of the House of Welf, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1589-1613 AD, Silver Lügentaler (29.11g, 40mm), 1596, ‘Lies and Falsehood’ Reichsthaler, Goslar mint. Davenport-9090; Welter-628. The most collectible ‘Lies and Falsehood’ thaler of Heinrich Julius in excellent preservation, despite the typically blundered rims, the offered piece is highly attractive with an original cabinet grey patina and clear, non-doubled devices, moderately scarce, near Extremely Fine. 

SKU: WC-360

Sold for $1,250.00

Spanish Empire, Captaincy General of Venezuela, Silver Two Reales (5.22g, 25mm), ‘182’ LM (1812 AD), Caracas mint. KM C-13.1; Stohr-9-C13. A notable royalist issue of Venezuela struck in the image Lima cob piece, holed at the top which is often seen for the type, lightly toned and perfectly centred for the type, good Very Fine and scarce. 

SKU: WC-421

Sold for $806.00

Kingdom of Spain, Philip V of the French House of Bourbon, King of the Spanish Empire in his first reign 1700-1724 AD, Gold 8 Escudos (26.89g, 37mm), 1704 SP, Seville mint, “S-8-P-8” variety. KM-260; Calico-2271; Cayon-9896. A charming representative of the milled types of Philip V, offering commendable visual appeal despite the minor soft strike over the central devices which is a common occurrence accompanying the series, very attractive overall and desirable, Extremely Fine for the type.

SKU: WC-326

Sold for $12,288.00

Edward VI of the House of Tudor, King of England 1547-1553 AD, Silver Sixpence (2.94g, 27mm), Third period, Fine silver issues 1551-1553, initial mark y (1551), Tower mint, London. Spink-2483. Some minor marks to obverse and discrete tooling close to reverse margin 4-6h, else a charming coin, well struck and overall Very Fine, reverse of quite refined dies. 

SKU: ECH-68

Sold for $1,177.00

Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty 27 BC – 14 AD, Silver Denarius (3.83g, 20mm), Lugdunum mint 2 BC – 4 AD. RIC-210; RSC-43c. Struck on a very broad flan and with amber toning through the peripheral devices, the obverse quite choice with a noteworthy portrait although a bit softly struck, the reverse a touch off-centre, typical of the type, overall good Very Fine.

SKU: ARI-268

Sold for $950.00

Holy Roman Empire, Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenburg, Georg Wilhelm of the House of Hanover, nominal Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, as Prince of the Principality of Calenburg and Duke of the Duchy of Celle, Silver Reichsthaler Specie (29.07g, 44mm), 1659 HS, Zellerfield mint, Lower Saxony, under mint master Henning Schluter. KM-57.1; Davenport-6528. A few light hairlines to reverse and some metal stress each side, otherwise typically bold and displaying the renowned Wildman, very collectible, good Very Fine, reverse better. 

SKU: WC-438

Sold for $1,200.00

Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King of the United Kingdom 1901-1910 AD, Silver Maundy Set, 1908, includes Groat of Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence and maundy Penny. Spink-3985; Bull-3614. Supremely toned and in great preservation, each piece awash with idyllic colour, particularly the threepence with notable reddish hues, housed within dated 1908 Maundy set box, details virtually as struck. 

SKU: ECM-129

Sold for $400.00

British Empire, Straits Settlements, Queen Victoria (1837-1901 AD), Æ Quarter Cent, 1889, Royal mint, London. KM-14. Certified and graded by PCGS as Mint State 64 Red Brown (#38692309). This piece is truly blazing with lustre; the second highest known grade by PCGS, it’s desirability and collectability reflected in recent prices. 

SKU: WC-48

Sold for $500.00