Lot 1701
Great Britain. Sovereign, 1823. S.3800; Fr-376; KM-682. Weight 0.2355 ounce. George IV. Leaureate head left. Reverse; Crowned shield. Rare date. PCGS graded VF-35. In special PCGS Ship of Gold holder which contains One Pinch of Gold Dust recovered from the S.S. Central America treasure.
Special PCGS number 674253.35/35474715. Estimated Value $1,500 - UP
Much of 1823 was consumed with discussion about the reform of the penal system in Great Britain. Whereas the death penalty was previously prescribed for a host of offences, many of which would be considered minor crimes by modern standards, in July 1823, Prime Minister Robert Peel assisted in pushing through five parliamentary acts that abolished capital punishment for over 100 offences. The Judgement of Death Act permitted judges to commute death sentences to life imprisonment or transportation for all capital offences except murder and treason while the Transportation Act allowed for the shipping of convicts to penal colonies in Australia where they became forced labor for various public works. The Gaols Act attempted to reform prisons by requiring the separation of male and female prisoners and guards, ensuring regular visits by chaplains, and prohibiting the use of irons and manacles.
In addition to penal reform, a concern for Great Britain in 1823 was the outbreak of the First Anglo-Asante War (1823-1826) in the Gold Coast of Africa. The conflict erupted after a serviceman in the Royal Africa Corps was kidnapped and murdered by a group of Asante warriors. An initial British reprisal was a failure, but when the Asante offered to negotiate a settlement of the issue as well as to territorial disputes the governor, Sir Charles McCarthy refused and instead prepared a punitive military expedition. The campaign, which actually began in January 1824 was an utter disaster, in which the British forces ran out of ammunition and McCarthy was killed. His skull was reportedly rimmed with gold and subsequently used as a drinking cup by Asante rulers.
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| Realized $4,080 |
