Goldberg Coins & Collectibles Auctions    
       

       

                             



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

             
            Lot 2166Great Britain. Briot Halfcrown (1638-39). Charles I. 2nd 
            Milled issue. S-2858. Anchor and "B" mintmark on each side. King on 
            horseback. A gleaming, Mint State example of the famous roller-dies 
            produced early experiment in machine-made coinage by Nicholas Briot. 
            This wonderful coin possesses somewhat prooflike fields and is 
            darkly toned in rich silver-gray, with some iridescent highlights. 
            The extraordinary obverse is fully struck, while the shield shows 
            some softness of strike in the top two quadrants (but this is 
            typical). The flans, or planchets, for these tend to show some 
            porosity but this coin has little of that, and its overall 
            impression is stunning! Not quite so fine as the example in our 
            Terner 2 auction a year ago (which in the cataloguer's opinion was 
            undergraded by PCGS at least two points), but no other specimen 
            examined by this writer has equaled the present coin. Extremely rare 
            in this outstanding state of preservation. This coin is so fine that 
            an estimate of its value is difficult; Spink does not price it over 
            VF grade (about $1600). The magnificent example in our Terner 2 sale 
            (lot 1925) realized an astonishing $12,650 but was doubtless the 
            finest known example. This coin has a similar eye-appeal and is 
            distinctly Mint State, and seems to be second in line in terms of 
            quality for the type, which is both elegant and highly historical, 
            so we believe our estimate to be realistic. NGC graded MS-63. 
            Estimated Value $7,000-7,500. 

            Provenance: The Cheshire Collection.
             Realized $7,000
             


          








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