Important British and World Coins

Elizabeth II (1952-, Uniface Trials for the revs. of decimal coins, 1963, by C. Ironside, viz. Twenty Pence, cupro-nickel, Royal arms in Garter with supporters, edge grained, 36mm, 26.63g (Davis p.118); Ten Pence, cupro-nickel, St George and dragon, horse saddled and caparisoned, edge grained, 28mm, 13.11g (Davis p.118); Five Pence, cupro-nickel, three lis-topped crowns, edge grained, 23.5mm, 6.56g (Davis p.118); Two Pence, bronze, Britannia seated right, head turned back, edge plain, 26mm, 7.28g (F 794); Halfpenny, bronze, Welsh dragon with curved tail, edge plain, 17mm, 1.86g (F 796); Quarter-Penny, aluminium, Tudor rose and sprigs, edge plain, 20mm, 0.91g (cf. F p.182; cf. Spink 54, 746) [6]. Obverse of Ten Pence stained, otherwise all extremely fine and extremely rare (£800-1,200)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Joanna Tansley Collection of Patterns, Proofs and Coining Trials.

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Collection

Provenance:
Bt Spink July 1987.

A limited competition between invited artists for a new decimal currency was put in hand as soon as the Committee was set up in December 1961. The winner was adjudged to be Christopher Ironside. Trial strikings were made of Mr Ironside’s designs, but the change of government following the 1964 General Election caused a temporary shelving of the project. The formal decision to decimalise Britain’s currency was announced by the then Chancellor, James Callaghan (1912-2005), on 1 March 1966