Spink Offers Seldom-Seen British Gold Crown Certified by NGC

One of the greatest rarities in British numismatics has been certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) and is being offered in an upcoming Spink auction. Bidding is already underway for this coin and five other British rarities in the St. Helier Collection of English Gold Coins Part II sale, which will be held December 14, 2023.

The centerpiece of the sale is a Great Britain 1831 Gold Crown graded NGC PF 63+ Ultra Cameo (lot 2006) with an estimate of £240,000 to £300,000 (about $303,000 to $379,000). While no official 5 Sovereign coin exists from the reign of William IV (1830-1837), engraver William Wyon struck these to their weight, using Crown dies. Fewer than a dozen of these very rare coins are known to exist, and this is the second-highest graded of the three examples in the NGC Census.

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This particular example has been unseen at public auction for almost a century, according to the auction house. When it sold for £5,350 in a private sale in 1966, it set a record for highest price paid for a British coin.

Spink presented Part I of the St. Helier Collection in a March 2023 auction. The dozen rarities in that auction were led by a Great Britain 1820 Gold Pattern 5 Sovereign graded NGC PF 60 Cameo, which realized £235,000 (about $291,000).

Other NGC-certified St. Helier Collection coins in the Part II auction include:

• an England 1688 Elephant and Castle 5 Guineas graded NGC AU 58 (lot 2004) with an estimate of £30,000 to £40,000 (about $38,000 to $50,000)
• an England 1673 5 Guineas graded NGC UNC Details (lot 2005) with an estimate of £24,000 to £30,000 (about $30,000 to $38,000)
• an England 1701 5 Guineas - Ornamental Sceptres graded NGC AU Details (lot 2003) with an estimate of £10,000 to £14,000 (about $13,000 to $18,000)
• a Great Britain 1911 2 Sovereign graded NGC PF 62 Cameo (lot 2001) with an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000 (about $2,500 to $3,800)
• a Great Britain 1902 5 Sovereign graded NGC PF 62 Matte (lot 2002) with an estimate of £2,000 to £2,600 (about $2,500 to $3,300)

Estimates are provided by the auction house. The $ symbol represents US Dollars.