Coin Books: COPE COLLECTION OF BRITISH COINS OFFERED

A spectacular Roman bronze coin depicting Emperor Hadrian addressing the legions of Britannia, and a magnificent silver Petition Crown of King Charles II, are among the many highlights of the Cope Collection coming to the auction block on May 8 in Zurich, Switzerland under the auspices of three firms – Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Classical Numismatic Group LLC, and Numismatica Genevensis SA.

Assembled over 50 years by the clothes retailer and numismatist Geoffrey Cope of Leeds, UK, the Cope Collection comprises 170 ancient Roman bronze coins and more than 800 British issues. Condition was paramount: a significant number of the coins are considered the finest of their type. A second auction session featuring the rest of Cope’s British holdings will take place in October 2024.

 

The celebrated bronze sestertius of Hadrian with a reverse depicting him addressing his legions stationed in Britain was on display for several years at the British Museum, and is easily the finest of fewer than five known examples of the type. Estimated at 300,000 Swiss francs ($328,000), the obverse of the coin presents a beautifully sculptured portrait of the emperor, who reigned AD 117 to 138.

The 170 ancient bronze coins in the Cope Collection are all of exceptional quality, including issues depicting both Roman emperors and empresses. Among the other Roman rulers depicted with almost photographic realism are Gaius Caligula, his mother Agrippina Senior, Claudius, Nero, Vitellius, Vespasian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Caracalla, and Macrinus.

 

Leading the lineup of British coins is the famous Petition Crown of Charles II, the highest independently graded of 16 surviving examples. It is estimated SF 500,000 (around $545,000). Struck by celebrated medallist Thomas Simon, it was created in 1663 to ‘petition’ Charles II to rehire Simon to his post as chief engraver at the Royal Mint.

Making use of new mechanical technology, a message engraved around the edge of the coin entreated the king to ‘compare this his tryall piece’ with coins produced by his Dutch rivals for the position, the Roettier brothers. The third highest graded example sold for $800,000 at Heritage Auctions in January this year setting a new auction record for an English silver coin.

 

The Cope sales will also include the finest-known Henry VIII silver testoon, made circa 1544-45, with portrait based on the famous painting by Holbein, with an estimate of SF 40,000 / $43,000, and one of only three specimens in private hands of the famous Oxford ‘city view’ Crown struck in 1644 for Charles I by Thomas Rawlins, estimated at SF 150,000 / $163,000.

David Guest, British coins specialist for CNG’s London office, said: The sale of the Cope collection is one of the most significant dispersals of British coins in decades. Every era of coin production in the British Isles is represented in the collection.

Geoffrey Cope has written numerous articles about his numismatic passion. In one article posted on Coin Week, he explained: There are coins that create dreams when you see them and as you touch them, they speak to you ‘I am beautiful, love me, own me and look after me.’ This is part of the obsession of a collector, the emotion, the vision of the individual who wishes to have in his collection a piece of history. The collector enjoys studying history to know what was his past then he will have a wider spectrum of the future.

The collection may be viewed online via http://www.copecollection.com, and private viewings may be arranged at the London offices of CNG (British coins until April 22) and NAC (Roman coins until April 19) prior to sale in Zurich.

During much of the 1970s and 80s, Geoffrey Cope ran Skopes, the men’s tailoring business founded by his father in Leeds in 1948. His son Simon Cope, the vendor of the coin collection, now runs the firm.