a gold sovereign coin with a cross on the front and a crown on the back
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GREAT BRITAIN Charles II (1660–1685). Proof of the Broad, in gold, struck on dies by Thomas Simon, burnished blank (PROOF) 1660, London. Obverse: CAROLVS - II. REX. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust facing right, beneath an eight-pointed star; below, the signature S. Reverse: MAG - NALI - A. DEI - (date) [The mighty deeds of God]. A cross formed by four instances of the King’s crowned monogram, with an eight-pointed star on the right, flanked by the coats of arms of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. North 2777 - KM.Pn30 - Montagu 818 (Sotheby’s, London, November 1896); Gold – 30 mm – 6 h Top Pop: this is the only graded specimen! From the Ira & Larry Goldberg 91 sale, 7 June 2016, lot 2285. PCGS PR63+ (44101822). With fluted edge. On a burnished (PROOF) blank. Very well centred and neatly struck, with at most some very slight flattening on the reeded edges. With an unlisted cameo effect, the bust and reliefs, slightly dotted, stand out against the mirror-like fields. Only minimal signs of handling, particularly on the obverse, but the reliefs are perfectly preserved. The patina is golden with orange highlights. One of the finest examples known! Very rare. Superb in Proof condition. On 25 May 1660, when Prince Charles landed at Dover, he knelt and kissed the English soil. Far more than a mere symbolic gesture, this was a unique event in English history, the moment that marked the beginning of the Restoration of the monarchy throughout the country. A month earlier, Parliament had decided to proclaim him King Charles II on condition that he abide by the Declaration of Breda, pardoning many of his father’s enemies and renouncing the absolute and historic powers of the monarchy. He arrived in London four days later, on his thirtieth birthday. There was much to forgive. At the age of eighteen, he had witnessed his father’s beheading for ‘treason’ during the winter of 1649. As the sole surviving son, he was the natural heir. That right vanished upon his father’s death. As a teenager, he had accompanied his father on the final campaigns of the Civil War and had witnessed the impending end. Charles and his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, had been exiled to France in 1646 and protected by his first cousin, King Louis XIV, during the final years of the war, then during the Commonwealth and finally under the disastrous reign of Oliver Cromwell. Upon Cromwell’s death, his son, Richard, had proved incapable. The nation lay in ruins. Cromwell had crushed the Royalist supporters, but Charles II had pardoned many of those who had plundered the country, taking revenge only on a handful of Cromwell’s most virulent military and legal supporters. Charles II was the first of a new generation of monarchs, and he devoted much of his passion to the arts despite the disasters of the early years of his reign, notably the plague, the Great Fire of London and foreign wars. He set about building what was to become the royal collection of paintings, and was a generous patron of the flourishing sciences. He took a particular personal interest in sculpture and engraving, as evidenced by the superb artistic quality of this magnificent model, which broke with the medieval style of engraving, often perceived as expressionless and lacking in relief. Here, on the contrary, we find a striking image of the king, rich in moving details, rendered in relief with great artistic finesse. This fabulous engraving, presented here as a trial piece, contributed significantly to the introduction of machine-struck coinage, ordered by the king in council on 17 May 1661, shortly after its creation. The king, known for his personal interest in his own effigy, probably examined this coin. However, contemporary sources attest that the use of the dies superbly engraved by Simon for the hammer-struck coins aroused strong discontent at the Royal Mint: the hammering process did not allow for the reproduction of the distinctive details of the engraving. It is plausible that this specimen demonstrated the obsolescence of the hammer-striking technique. The short-lived minting of coins bearing Oliver Cromwell’s effigy, carried out by Blondeau, came to an end in August 1660 with the removal of the striking machines from the Royal Mint. This removal was no doubt due in part to the jealousy of the employees, who feared losing their jobs, but also to the use of these machines during Cromwell’s despised reign. Cromwell’s coins demonstrated, however, that the manual technique was outdated and incapable of preventing counterfeiting and the illegal siphoning off of metal from the irregular edges. A revolution was brewing. Thomas Simon, born around 1623, was one of the sons of Peter Simon of Guernsey, whose elder brother, Abraham, was also a medallist. He came to the attention of Nicholas Briot around 1635 and was taken on as an apprentice at the Royal Mint. His first work was the medal commemorating the ‘Scottish Rebellion’ of 1639. As was customary at the time, he also worked as a gem-setter. His talent earned him the appointment as co-engraver of the Mint in 1645, just as the Civil War was upending England’s most cherished traditions. Simon’s talent led to him being commissioned to produce effigies of General Cromwell, intended for the minting of gold and silver medals to reward the officers and soldiers who had taken part in the battle. His work was so well received that Simon was subsequently chosen to engrave the dies for Cromwell’s coins, struck between 1656 and 1658. These coins were strikingly beautiful, far more remarkable than those struck by hammer. One of the unique features of Cromwell’s coins on the English market was the cameo effect created by the dotted texture of the portrait, an effect also found on our specimen. In 1660, Thomas Rawlins was reinstated as chief engraver at the Royal Mint. In June 1660, Simon was commissioned to produce a new portrait, which was highly praised; however, the striking technique did not allow for the production of coins that met the Mint’s requirements (as the dies were too fragile). His work was nevertheless so well received that he was commissioned to engrave the dies for all the new coins to be struck. In 1662, the decisive competition for the Mint pitted him against John Roëttiers of Flanders, who won it. Simon, having been dismissed from the Mint, died of the plague in June 1665. England, Charles II (1660–1685), Broad Minting, by Thomas Simon, Proof, 1660, London Obverse: ‘CAROLVS – II. REX.’ A bust facing right, clad in armour and drapery, wearing a laurel wreath; an eight-pointed star at the top and the signature ‘S’ at the bottom Reverse: ‘MAG – NALI – A. DEI (The Mighty Works of God) – (reign year)’; a cross formed by the combined ciphers (monograms) of the four kings, surrounded on all four sides by the coats of arms of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, with an eight-pointed star at the centre of the cross North 2777 – KM.Pn30 – Montagu 818 (Sotheby’s, London, November 1896); Gold – 30 mm – 6 h. Top Pop: The only one graded! Provenance: Ira & Larry Goldberg Auction 91 (7 June 2016), lot 2285 PCGS PR63+ reeded edge proof; meticulously struck with no misalignment at the centre; very slight scuffing above the decorative border; although not graded as a cameo,the bust and relief, featuring light dot engraving, stand out against the mirror-finish field. Very slight contact marks are visible only on the surface; the relief is flawless and perfect. Orange-hued patina. One of the finest examples in existence,or perhaps this is the finest specimen of all! Extremely rare; in superb condition – completely unused On 25 May 1660, when Prince Charles landed at Dover, he knelt and kissed the soil of England. This was more than a mere symbolic gesture; it was an unprecedented event in English history and marked the beginning of the nationwide Restoration.A month earlier, Parliament had decided that the Prince would ascend the throne as Charles II on condition that he abide by the ‘Declaration of Breda’.That declaration stipulated that he should pardon his father’s many enemies and renounce the absolute power traditionally held by the monarchy. He arrived in London four days later, on his 30th birthday. There was a great deal to forgive. In the winter of 1649, when he was 18,he had witnessed his father’s beheading for ‘treason’, and the right of succession to the throne that should naturally have belonged to him, as his father’s sole surviving son, had vanished with his father’s death. As a teenager, he had accompanied his father to take part in the final campaigns of the Civil War, and had seen the end drawing near.Charles and his mother, Queen Henriette-Marie, were exiled to France in 1646, where they lived under the protection of his first cousin, Louis XIV, during the final stages of the war, the subsequent Commonwealth era, and under Oliver Cromwell’s disastrous rule.After Cromwell’s death, the incompetence of his son Richard became apparent, and the country fell into ruin.Although Cromwell had suppressed the Royalists, Charles II pardoned many of those who had plundered the country and took reprisals only against a very small number of Cromwell’s most ardent military and legal supporters.Charles II was a pioneer among a new generation of monarchs and, despite being struck by calamities such as the plague, the Great Fire of London and foreign wars during the early years of his reign, he devoted much of his passion to the arts. He began building what would later become the Royal Collection of Paintings and acted as a generous patron of the rapidly developing field of science.His deep personal interest in sculpture and printmaking in particular is evident from the outstanding artistic quality of the portraits modelled on him.Breaking away from the medieval style of engraving, which had often been considered lacking in expressiveness and three-dimensionality, we can see here, by contrast, a remarkably splendid portrait of the king, rendered in three dimensions with moving attention to detail and artistic refinement.This magnificent engraving, unveiled in the form of a trial coin, contributed significantly to the introduction of mechanical coinage, which the King was to order at the Privy Council on 17 May 1661.This took place shortly after the completion of the die engraving. The King, who was known for his keen interest in his own portrait, is thought to have examined this coin very closely.Contemporary records confirm that strong dissatisfaction arose within the Mint over the use of Simon’s superbly engraved die for hammer-struck coins. This was because the distinctive details of the engraving could not be reproduced by hammer striking. One can imagine that this proved that hammer striking was now obsolete.The production run of coins bearing Blondeau’s portrait of Oliver Cromwell was short-lived, and this method came to an end in August 1660 when the machinery was removed from the Mint. It is thought that jealousy on the part of staff, who were likely fearful of losing their jobs, was one factor in this, butthe fact that these machines had been used under Cromwell’s odious rule was also a factor. However, Cromwell’s coins demonstrated that manual production techniques were outdated and that they could not prevent counterfeiting or the illegal diversion of metal due to their irregular edges. A major transformation was about to take place. Thomas Simon was born around 1623; his father was Peter Simon of Guernsey, and his elder brother Abraham was also a medallist. Around 1635, he caught the eye of Nicolas Brio and was taken on as an apprentice at the Royal Mint.His first work was a medal from 1639 depicting ‘The Scottish Rebellion’. Working as a gem-engraver in accordance with the custom of the time, Simon’s talent was recognised, and in 1645 he was appointed assistant engraver at the Royal Mint.This was precisely the period when the Civil War was shaking the very foundations of England’s most time-honoured traditions. Simon’s talent was such that he was entrusted with creating a portrait of General Cromwell; this portrait was subsequently used to mint gold and silver medals honouring the officers and soldiers who had taken part in the fighting. This proved extremely popular, and Simon was subsequently chosen as the engraver of the dies for the Cromwell coins, which were to be minted between 1656 and 1658. These coins were breathtakingly beautiful,far superior to those produced by hammering. One of the innovative features of the Cromwell coins that appeared on the British market was the cameo effect created by the stippled pattern of the portrait,which can also be seen on this coin. In 1660, Thomas Rawlins was reinstated as Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint.In June of that year, Simon was commissioned to produce a new portrait; although it was very well received, the engraving technique used meant that coins meeting the Mint’s requirements could not be produced (the die marks were brittle and prone to breaking).However, as his work was held in such high regard, he was put in charge of engraving the dies for all newly minted coins.In 1662, following a contest at the Mint to determine who would retain the post, in which he was defeated by John Loetier of Flanders, Simon was dismissed from the Mint and died of the plague in June 1665. * Pursuant to Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 of 5 April 2022, which comes into force in national law on 1 January 2025, buyers from within the EU must pay 5.5% VAT on the hammer price of this lot. * Pursuant to Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 of 5 April 2022, which comes into force in national law on 1 January 2025, successful bidders from within the EU must also pay 5.5% VAT on this lot https://d10dakqizeg4uw.cloudfront.net/VAE19/2122.mp4
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Auction time 10/15/2026 at 9:30 AM
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