A British Crown of Charles II, dated 1663, is set to go on display at Spink in London to coincide with the opening of Spink’s newly designed ground floor showroom at the end of November.
The coin is part of the Geoffrey Cope Collection and was originally purchased from the prestigious sale of The Slaney Collection at Spink on 15 May 2003. It is thought to be one of the most magnificent coins in existence and is so highly desired that an offer of over £1,000,000 has reportedly been refused by the present owner reflecting the current strength of the market for rare coins.
This masterpiece is the creation of an audacious and creative engraver, Thomas Simon. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy Charles II ordered trials for a milled coinage from the newly appointed Dutch engravers at the Royal Mint. Simon, aggrieved that he had not been given the commission, was determined to win the King over and be chosen as the official designer with his clever concepts.
Thomas Simon engraved the dies for this fabulously detailed Crown featuring an arresting depiction of Charles II’s bust on the obverse with “Simon” engraved just below the King’s clothed neckline. The most spectacular details on the coin are the “Petition” of two hundred raised letters in two lines around the coin’s rim which is only 35mm in depth which reads:
THOMAS SIMON MOST HVMBLY PRAYS YOVR MAJESTY TO COMPARE THIS HIS TRYALL PIECE WITH THE DVTCH AND IF MORE TRVLY DRAWN & EMBOSS’D MORE GRACE; FVLLY ORDER’D AND MORE ACCURATELY ENGRAVEN TO RELIEVE HIM
The “Petition” Crown was presented at the King’s court, an incident recorded by Samuel Pepys in his diary. Simon’s exquisite engraving and extraordinary workmanship, however did not win the King’s favour although the execution is far superior to that of the accepted design. This is perhaps because Charles was indebted to the Dutch engravers for the financial support they had given him during his exile in the Netherlands before the collapse of the Commonwealth.
Simon met an unfortunate early demise in the Great Plague of 1665, however his coin remains as a truly magnificent piece of art. Spink are pleased to have the opportunity to display this piece of numismatic history in our showroom for a limited period of time only.
Story and image courtesy of http://www.spink.com
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