Coins, Tokens, Historical Medals, Cabinets & Books

‘Corfe Castle’ or ‘Coventry’, Halfcrown, mm. interlinked Cs, horseman left, rev. oval garnished shield, 12.22g/7h (Bull F28; SCBI Brooker 1192, this coin; N 2632; S –). Nearly very fine, extremely rare; probably one of only three known specimens
£800-1,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Coins of Charles I From the Lyall Collection.

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Provenance: H. Montagu Collection, Part III, Sotheby Auction, 13-20 November 1896, lot 591; J.G. Murdoch Collection, Part II, Sotheby Auction, 8-13 June 1903, lot 158; V.J.E. Ryan Collection, Part II, Glendining Auction, 22-4 January 1952, lot 1172; J.G. Brooker Collection [from Spink]; A. Morris Collection [from S. Mitchell February 2000].

According to the sale catalogue, the attribution to Coventry came from Montagu himself although he felt the coin may have been struck sometime after Charles I’s reign. The footnote in the Murdoch catalogue suggests the issue is contemporary, pointing out Briot’s use of the interlinked C motif on patterns of the late 1630s. Later numismatists, including Boon (SCBI Brooker, p.xlv), seem less sure of an attribution to a provincial mint, suggesting that the issue may be a contemporary forgery. The current vendor feels that style, workmanship, silver quality and the unique interlocking Cs mintmark all point away from a forger’s production