Lot 1977

Description

East India Company, General Trade coinage issue or 'Portcullis Coinage', Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), silver eight testerns (eight reales), mintmark O, (1600), obv. crowned arms, around O: ELIZABETH. D;G; ANG; FR; ET. HIB; REGINA, crowned E R at sides, rev. O: POSVI. DEVM. ADIVTOREM. MEVM., around crowned portcullis, (Pr. 1, M.2137 This Coin, Mitchiner; Non Islamic States and western Colonies AD 600-1979). Has been carefully plugged and reworked in the centre otherwise, fine, toned and very rare.

Ex. Glendining's c.1970's, and Robert Senior England by private treaty. $$ Of the 38 known specimens, 11 are in museums and 27 are in private collections. The central plugging is most important and when shown to Major F. Pridmore in the late 1970's it excited him, as he had read in a document that a Portcullis eight testerns was included in the records of coins being officially holed before re-coinage in 1696. Consequently he told R. Senior this was a coin he believed would one day be found, which would prove the continuing circulation of the few remaining portcullis trade coins not melted in 1603-4, and that they were continuing to circulate in England for nearly a century until 1696. A coin of immense historical significance.