Lot 3055
Great Britain. Proof copper Farthing, 1860. Victoria Young Head. S-3950, super-rare final year of issue for the type (Proof not listed). While an 1864 is also listed by Spink (which must exist only because of the 1864-dated Manx Proof farthing made at the same time), this cataloguer has never seen either 1864 and has seen only four Proofs of 1860, over many years. Peck cites only examples in the Royal Mint collection. Cope & Rayner (English Milled Coinage, 1973) give this date their highest R7 rating overall and call the Proof unique. However, the cataloguer recalls seeing three or four, two of them in one year, all different. The consignor believes that possibly 6 pieces exist in all, 3 currency issues and 3 Proofs. This is one of them. And, it's a beauty, a very choice example with gleaming mirror fields that are a rich medium brown in color, with bluish iridescence. The Proof strike is 100% sharp, in all details, producing a dramatic Britannia motif along with an elegant portrait of Queen Victoria as a young lady. The sole detractions are extremely faint hairlines, and a slight discoloration in the reverse field. The obverse is simply gorgeous! Ranks at the top of the few pieces known. This is a mega-rare work of numismatic art sculpted in copper, a truly elegant memento of its age! NGC graded Proof 64 Brown.
Estimated Value $12,500 - 13,500.
The Cheshire Collection.
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| Realized $12,075 |
