Lot 304
Great Britain. Tower Unite, ND. S-2692 (2693A); N-2152. 9.00 grams. Charles I, 1625-1649. Fifth Bust, in small lace collar; Tower mint under the King (1633-1634). High-crowned bust left. Reverse: Garnished oval shield, crown above. Portcullis mintmark. Superb grade for issue: essentially As Struck on the usual, wretched, irregularly shaped flan, the hand-striking qualities soft in areas. Scarce and as nice as this issue comes. NGC graded AU-55.
Charles assumed the mantle of kingship at age twenty-five. After a weak and sickly childhood, he became an excellent horseman and a strong-willed king (which would doom him). Charles inherited the incessant financial problems of his father, namely the refusal by Parliament to grant funds to a king who refused to address the grievances of the nobility. He thus continued in the tradition of his father and mismanaged affairs until the point at which he forced a fatal showdown with Parliament. Civil war ensued. Also exacerbating tensions was Charles's marriage to a devoutly Catholic French princess who, along with her meddling and immense Catholic retinue, only incensed the increasingly Puritan nobility. Charles was eventually incarcerated by Parliament in 1646. In 1648 he was put on trial for treason. The tribunal, by a vote of 68 to 67, found him guilty and set his execution for early 1649, by beheading.
Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,500.
Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection (by private treaty to the Millennia Collection).
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| Realized $2,875 |
