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George III 1811 Pattern Bank Token PF60 with 6 berry obverse Ext Rare
George III (1760-1820), Pattern Bank of England Dollar, 1811, engraved by John Phillp, small laureate and draped bust left, six berries in wreath, *.* on obliquely milled truncation, Latin legend and toothed borders surrounding both sides, GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX., rev. struck en medaille, four line inscription, BANK / TOKEN / 5S. 6D. / 1811, within tied oak wreath, initials I.P. with first stop centrally placed under tie knot, stem points to left, 24 acorns in wreath, weight 26.57g (ESC 203 dies L/5 R4; Bull 1990; L&S 121; Davis 34). Some light surface marks, light tone, has been graded and slabbed by NGC as PF60, extremely rare, especially with the six berry wreath obverse, the extra berry to usual appearing as part of a pair of berries above the ear, the only example this cataloguer has ever seen of this variety in this metal.
NGC Certification 4298219-001.
The Latin legends translate to on obverse "George the Third, King by the Grace of God."
Provenance:
Ex Arthur Chesser Collection, Dix Noonan and Webb, Auction 113, 17th September 2013, lot 175.
The late Arthur Chesser (1900-70) was a Post-War antiques dealer in metals, mainly copper and brass, who collected coins as a hobby at the same time, obtaining many of his coins after World War II, mainly through the London dealer Leonard Sverdloff who obtained much of his stocks through the auction rooms of Glendining and Sotheby. After his death the collection was split between two sons, with the first half appearing for auction in Spink Auction 38 in 1984 lots 179-254 inclusive as a Collection of English Crowns. The second half from which the more specialised Bank of England Dollar series and countermarks appeared nearly 30 years later in the auction cited above.
The only example Linecar and stone could find having publicly traded, when they printed their book on the English Proof and Pattern Crown Size Pieces in 1968 was the example offered in the Francis Cokayne sale at Glendining 17th July 1946 lot 29 that was sold to the Bank of England Museum. Maurice Bull in the latest English Silver Coinage publication for his reference number 1990 gives an erroneous provenance to a piece in auction that turns out to be a 5 berry obverse K, so that is a red herring.
What is more, Michael Dickinson in his articles on the Bank of England Dollar varieties in the Spink Numismatic Circulars of October to December 1999, could only list two known examples of this variety, the Cokayne example that he viewed later in the Bank of England Museum, and only one other in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, which was part of the Bowles Collection originally cited in the Davis reference given. The Chesser Collection was unknown to Michael Dickinson at the time of his Circular articles in 1999.
Therefore today this coin is the only example we can trace in private ownership of ESC 203 the six berry wreath variety of the coin in silver, and is certainly more rarer than the R4 rating given in ESC and should be viewed with an R6 rating.