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1640 countermark on a 1526-1544 “7” Mintmark [York Mint] Groat of Henry VIII of England, Spink 2239

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:375.00 CAD Estimated At:750.00 - 850.00 CAD
1640 countermark on a 1526-1544 “7” Mintmark [York Mint] Groat of Henry VIII of England, Spink 2239
SOLD
700.00CAD+ buyer's premium (140.00)
This item SOLD at 2019 May 02 @ 18:20UTC-4 : AST/EDT

Buyer’s Premiums will be added on all items as per the Terms & Conditions of the sale. Invoices will be emailed out after The Toronto Coin Expo.

Host Coin of Henry VIII of England, Vlack 1L Type - 1640 countermark on a 1526-1544 “7” Mintmark [York Mint] Groat of Henry VIII of England, Spink 2239 type, 2nd coinage. Fine or slightly better, an almost irrelevant grade since this is an extremely rare host coin for a 1640 countermark and likely just one of two known, the other the Vlack collection specimen. About half the legends visible on either side, some letters weakly so. Decent reverse design detail, the countermark applied to the very center of that side, flattening out much of the central obverse and with just traces of Cardinal Wolsey’s bust visible there – and since that side was so different from any circulating French coin, one wonders if the countermark was applied to purposely obscure it. Nice toned silver color, the surfaces with a light roughness to them. A fascinating type to see as a host coin – not only were England and France at war throughout much of the 16th and 17th centuries and seeing an English coin with a French countermark would be something of a culture shock, but there was also a monetary loss involved in stamping this piece – for the English coin was made of SILVER, and not billon and had a higher face and melt value than what it would have circulated at with the 1640 countermark! One of the highlights of this collection of 1640 issues, a coin that is going to be needed by anyone who is putting together even a basic type set by Vlack numbers since it is given its own unique designation; the Vlack specimen is now part of the finest collection of French Colonial coins ever formed, so this piece will likely be the only chance a collector will have of owning this type for years or decades to come!