Lot 3378
Great Britain. Pattern Guinea, 1791. George III. Gilt Proof. Laureate bust right with long hair scroll ornament below. Reverse: Crowned spade shaped shield, normal legends but all intaglio. Edge plain. Reverse inverted. Excessively rare. Perhaps 2 or 3 specimens known. this appears at first sight to be the Norweb specimen (lot 546, Norweb part 2, 13th November 1985-Spink) and the plate coin for the Rasmussen-Wilson pattern book, but the reverse of the Norweb coin is described as being struck 'en medaille' or upright. This reverse is inverted, prompting the thought that this coin may be unique.
The Norweb collection cataloguer quoted Hawkins describing a similar pattern: 'The reverse is struck from an unfinished punch and not from a die in which, by mistake, each object in the shield is reversed… and in making the die the workman did not place the charges in the reverse bearings as he ought to have done. A fabulous rarity. NGC graded Proof 62 Ultra Cameo.
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,250.
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| Realized $1,783 |
