Charles I 1642 Triple Unite Oxford Mint, dies III/S2, finest graded MS63

Charles I (1625-49), gold Triple-Unite of Three Pounds, dated 1642, Oxford Mint, half-length crowned armoured figure of King left, holding sword and palm branch, Oxford plumes in field behind, all within beaded circle, Latin legend and outer toothed border surrounding, initial mark Oxford plumes, CAROLVS: D: G: MAG: BRIT: FRAN: ET: HI: REX, rev. abbreviated Latin Declaration inscription in three wavy lines at centre, RELIG: PROT / LEG: ANG / LIBER: PAR, date below, three Oxford plumes over .III. value above, Latin legend commences upper left within beaded and toothed border surrounding, initial mark five pellets, :EXVRGAT: DEVS: DISSIPENTVR: INIMICI:, weight 26.98g (Beresford-Jones dies III / S2; Schneider 286; N.2381; Brooker 832; S.2724). Struck on a full broad flan, with usual raised flaw from obverse die running across from left of plume to sword and a trace to rim, additional raised die flaws on reverse between 6 and 4 of date always seen in this die combination, has been slabbed and graded by NGC as MS63, the top of population and currently the finest graded of all 1642 dated Oxford Triple Unites.

NGC Certification 6670945-001.

The abbreviated obverse legend translates as "Charles, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland. The abbreviated reverse Declaration translates as "The religion of the Protestants, the Laws of England, the Liberty of Parliament". The outer reverse legend translates as "Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered"

The gold Triple Unite represents the largest hammered gold denomination ever produced in the English series of coinage at a face value of Three Pounds. Such coins were produced at a time of duress, when the King had moved his Capital from London after the Battle of Edgehill, to the Royalist Universities of the City of Oxford, where he made a state entrance on 29^th October 1642. The King lived at Christ Church, with the Queen installed at Merton; the Royalist Parliament met in the Upper Schools and Great Convocation House; the Privy Council at Oriel; and the Mint worked at New Inn Hall from the 3^rd January 1642/3. When the Triple Unite was introduced as currency it was more than double the value of any previous English coin produced and would have been seen as a magnificent piece of propaganda against the Puritan cause, to show that though the King had moved from London, Oxford was a rich alternative City. Perhaps the King was inspired by similar large extremely rare Scottish coins produced some 70 years earlier by his Father, King James VI of Scotland in 1575-6. Charles I had introduced the first regular newspaper printed in Oxford the "Mercurius Aulicus" from the 1^st January 1642/3 (1642 old calendar style), and the introduction of the new Triple Unite as currency is featured in the edition produced around the 18^th February 1642/3, and features a woodcut illustration of the new denomination (dies 1/S1 combination). This is thought to be the first ever illustration of a current coin of the realm in contemporary print. As the new year in the old calendar style commenced on the 25^th March this means all the 1642 dated coins were produced in only a very limited time from mid-February to probably April at latest when 1643 dated pieces were no doubt produced. It seems the issue of this great coin ceased with the great fire of Oxford as reported in the same newspaper of 6^th October 1644, as there are only three reverse types known of 1644.

These magnificent gold coins were struck for only three dates, 1642, 1643 and 1644 with some variation as there are 24 different varieties of obverse and reverse across these three dates, plus an extremely rare 1642 piece struck in Shrewsbury.

Today it is estimated from the 25 different die combinations across three dates that are known that a total surviving population equates to circa 250 pieces. This particular date and die combination accounts for 30 pieces or less of this surviving total. This top of population coin has been housed in a collection for decades and has no recent traceable provenance.

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We additionally note that an example of the 1643 dated Triple Unite also preserved in MS63 - the second finest of that particular date sold in a recent Swiss auction for 260,000 Swiss Francs hammer plus 20% buyers premium = 312,000CHF which equated at the time to £276,046.