Ancient, British and World Coins and Banknotes

Completion of the Britannia Tubular Bridge, 1850, a bronze medal by L.C. Wyon, bust of Robert Stephenson right, rev. view of the bridge with a train emerging past the lion guardians, 58mm (BHM 2402; E 1441; Moyaux 36; Taylor 164a; cf. Swan 67-9). Minor scuffing, almost extremely fine (£60-80)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Railway Medals.

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Provenance:
Christie’s [South Kensington] Auction, April 1981.

Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), engineer son of George Stephenson, was responsible for the design of a number of railway bridges. The Britannia Tubular bridge crosses the Menai Strait to Anglesey and linked the port of Holyhead to the railway. The central tower that supported the tubes holding up the bridge was built on Britannia rock, hence the naming of the bridge. Following a fire in recent years the bridge now carries both road and rail facilities. Illustration reduced