| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 31153 Price realized: 115,000 USD (Approx. 104,834 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Great Britain Oliver Cromwell gold Proof Pattern Broad of 20 Shillings 1656 PR63 Cameo NGC, KM-Pn25, S-3225, N-2744, W&R-39 (R2). Reeded edge. By Thomas Simon. A scintillating representative of one of the most sought-after British gold types, not only due to its sheer rarity, but its historical implications from one of the most tumultuous eras in English history. Pure, sun-gold appearances that highlight exacting devices provide instant verification of additional care and attention to detail that accompanied the piece's production, an instantly recognizable characteristic of Simon and Blondeau's partnership. While wisps likely cap the grade, NGC's assertion of its Choice Cameo assignment looms large as one of the finest currently extant and will surely excite even the most advanced collections of this popular series. After the English Civil War terminated in 1649 with the execution of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the anti-monarchist Parliamentarians, became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England. Seven years later, through the combination Thomas Simon's masterful engraving and the engineering know-how of Pierre Blondeau, the Cromwell portrait series was created. A step towards hypocritically representing Cromwell as King, this milled coinage featured the Lord Protector wearing a laureate wreath and the reverse shield featuring a crown, its overall quality a significant improvement over previous issues. Produced entirely in Blondeau's own private Drury House (as the Tower Mint moneyers loathed Blondeau and refused to let him work alongside them), the coinage was designed as a statement of Cromwell's power and to serve as an example of the dramatic improvements in coin production under the Commonwealth. Ex. Thomas Law Collection (Stack's Bowers Auction 176, August 2013, Lot 20190) https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/great-britain-oliver-cromwell-gold-proof-pattern-broad-of-20-shillings-1656-pr63-cameo-ngc-/a/3113-31153.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 80000-120000 USD |  |
