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Sale 137
Lot 1143
Great Britain. Pattern Five Pounds, 1820 LX. W&R-177 (R4); L&S-207; S.3783. 39.85g, toothed border both sides, edge inscribed. By Benedetto Pistrucci. George III, 1760-1820. Obv. Large laureate head right, pistrucci below, GEORGIUS III D:G: - BRITANNIAR: REX F:D: 1820. Reverse; Inverted die axis, St. George and the dragon, pistrucci in exergue, w.w.p. above broken lance on groundline, edge upright lettering DECUS ET TUTAMEN*ANNO REGIN LX*, rosette stops. Extremely rare, only 25 specimens struck. Pop 3; 1 in 64+DCam. A total of seven graded at PCGS. Some could be duplicates. This example photo in the PCGS Pop Report. PCGS graded Proof 63 Deep Cameo. Estimated Value $150,000 - UP
"Laureate Head" portrait facing right, king's name in Latin and royal titles around the rim with the date beneath. The designer has spelled out his name in tiny capital letters immediately under the king's portrait. Reverse presents the touched-up image created by Benedetto Pistrucci (modified by William Wyon) showing Saint George on horseback, naked but for a Roman-style helmet with streamer, cape and boots. Below the horse is Evil incarnate, or the Devil, represented by a dragon, speared through its side and being trampled by the horse. Part of the broken spear is shown on the ground. Saint George holds a sword in his right hand, which is the update of the earlier style. There is no legend, only the designer's name spelled out in tiny capital letters at left under the ground-line. The coin's edge features in raised letters the classic slogan DECUS ET TUTAMEN (meaning "An Ornament and a Safeguard") and ANNO REGNI LX, standing for year 60 of the reign.
The late-reign patterns of £5 and £2 value (five sovereigns and two sovereigns in value respectively) dated 1820 are among the most desirable of all 19th-century patterns. The elderly king is portrayed by the engraver Pistrucci as a Roman-style emperor in all his glory, despite the reality of his condition. This image has been called a memorial to the king in the 60th year of his reign and a celebration of the New Coinage of 1816-20. The same design with slight modifications was used for both patterns. Very few pieces have plain edges; most have lettered edges-the legend noted on each. Neither denomination was ever intended to be issued as a circulating coin-each size replaced in usefulness by paper currency more than half a century earlier. Quite a few splendid patterns struck in gold were created during this reign but these must be considered to be among the very finest. Engraving them had been authorized in the summer of 1816 but the dies were not completed until almost the exact moment of George III's death. Each version is very rare: some 25 with lettered edges were made of the larger denomination £5 and 60 of the £2 size. All pieces were distributed at the time to officials at the mint, national museums and prominent collectors. Their enduring appeal is the artistic purity of the designs-bold, crisp and free of cluttered legends. Their beauty is spectacular and their appeal to the world's collectors never-ending.
Ex Spink, London, May 5, 2005, lot 193.
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| Realized $480,000 |
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