One of Britain’s rarest coins EVER sells for $1m at auction – here’s why
- A Petition crown has sold for £817,929 at an auction
- One of just 16 in existence, it was expected to fetch £595,000
- This is now the most expensive silver British coin of its kind
One of the rarest and most valuable British coins in existence has sold for £817,929 or $1million at an auction.
It is now the most expensive silver British coin ever to be sold at auction.
The Petition Crown was expected to fetch £595,000 – or $750,000 – when it went under the hammer but smashed its estimate
Only 16 of these Petition Crowns exist, this one is part of the Cope collection
Worth a mint: A Petition Crown has sold for £817,929 or $1million at an auction, making it the most expensive silver British coin ever to be sold
The ultra rate Petition Crown of King Charles II – or Petition Crown as it is known – was minted in 1663 and was part of a collection of British and Roman coins.
The Petition Crown is one of the rarest and most valuable British coins in existence
(Reverse) The Petiton Crown was struck in 1663 by celebrated medallist and coin-designer Thomas Simon, who worked for the Royal Mint
In 2007, a Petition Crown sold for £207,100 and in 2018 another one sold for $649,000 in New York. Earlier this year, another Petition Crown sold in New York for $960,000.
The Petition Crown has a patriotic history behind it. It was struck by celebrated medallist and coin-designer Thomas Simon, who worked for the Royal Mint, in 1663.
The coin was created by Simon to ‘petition’ King Charles II to reinstate him as the sole chief engraver at the Royal Mint and also as a petition against the contemporary coins designed by the Flemish brothers John and Joseph Roettiers.
Using new mechanical coin machinery, Simon printed message around the edge of the coin asking the King to ‘compare this his tryall piece with the Dutch’, a dig at the Femish engravers.
The coin features a striking portrait of King Charles II so detailed that even a shadow of the veins on the King’s neck can be made out.
David Guest, director of Classical Numismatic Group said: ‘Widely regarded as the most beautiful machine-made coin ever struck and undoubtedly the most important coin in the British series, we are delighted to have seen the 1663 Petition Crown realise a world record price.
‘The overwhelming success of the sale of the Cope collection further underlines the confidence in the market for superb and rare British coins.’
The Oxford Crown was minted in 1644 and shows King Charles I in battle at Oxford during the English Civil War
Oxford Crown
The auction saw a number of other records broken.
An Oxford Crown, the only coin in the British series featuring a depiction of a city, sold for £382,798 or $486,000, making a record for any coin, gold or silver, depicting Charles I.
This coin was expected to fetch £132,400 but experts at the Classical Numismatic Group said it would very likely sell for more.
The coin shows King Charles I in Oxford during the English Civil War. It was minted in 1644.
Only eleven original Oxford Crowns are known to be in existence, eight of which are in museum collections.
Regal: The King Henry VIII Testoon is one of the most sought after coins aside from the petition Crown