Theatre and Entertainment, STRAND, Theatre Royal English Opera House, uniface square copper, pit dividing t r e o h, 38mm, 17.89g (W 360, and p.49, this piece illustrated); uniface pewter, t r e o h above u g [Upper Gallery], 2 below, 39 x 35mm, 13.09g (W 363, and p.50, this piece illustrated) [2]. First good fine, second fair £60-80

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tickets and Passes of London from the David Young Collection.

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Collection

Provenance: First bt L. McCarthy October 2003; second W.J. Noble Collection, Part II, Noble Numismatics Pty Auction 61B (Melbourne), 3-4 August 1999, lot 704 (part) [from S.E. Schwer 1984], bt R. Gladdle November 2004.

The original Lyceum, built in 1765, was an academy for artists. In 1794 Philip Astley took it over as a venue for his amphitheatre and in 1809 the building was refitted and opened as the Theatre Royal, English Opera House, where the company from Drury Lane performed until 1812. In 1816 it was rebuilt, but burned down in 1830. The new theatre dates from 1834 and in 1844 it was retitled Theatre Royal, Lyceum