Goldberg Coins & Collectibles Auctions    
       

       

                             



Sale 31: The Pre-Long Beach Auction May 30 - June 1, 2005
             

             
            Lot 2164Great Britain. Silver Briot Sixpence (1631-32). Charles I. 
            S-2855. Nicholas Briot, another French import to the Royal Mint, 
            evidently was not put off by Mestrelle's misfortune working for the 
            Crown under Elizabeth. Or possibly he did not know of the earlier 
            experiment in machine-made coinage. His own work was clearly a 
            departure from the sad state of affairs of a typical working day at 
            the Mint. The coinage was ragged, and most of the engraving 
            disgraceful. Blanks were poorly prepared, split and broken and 
            always oddly shaped. At some point the mint wardens had had enough, 
            and called upon Briot to try his hand. This he did twice, the first 
            time for this First Issue of 1631-32, where he marked his dies with 
            a tiny capital "B" and a flower which resembles a sun's face. The 
            second effort produced, instead, an anchor and "B and appeared 
            1638-39. The later coins in particular tend to exist with lots of 
            adjustments across their faces, as well as partially weak in strike, 
            evidence that the minting equipment was not perfected, advanced as 
            it was against the hammered-die process. Once again, the hammerers, 
            surely jealous of the new coins, forced the Frenchman from his post, 
            and they continued in their employment, even through the Civil War, 
            for another two decades, when experiments like Briot's finally led 
            to new, satisfactory, and fast minting machinery. Thus coins like 
            this one are from the end of an era, pointing to the next. Here is 
            one of the prettiest examples to be found, with handsome gray 
            toning, very clean surfaces, and the bold appearance that was 
            Nicholas Briot's goal. NGC graded MS-63. 
            Estimated Value $1,750-2,000. 

            Provenance: The Cheshire Collection.
             Realized $2,800
             


          








Courtesy Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, Beverly Hills, CA. www.goldbergcoins.com