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Extremely Rare Gold Half-Guinea with the VIGO Provenance Mark
Anne (1702-14), gold Pre-Union Half-Guinea, 1703. VIGO. below draped bust left, Latin legend and
toothed border surrounding, ANNA.DEI. GRATIA. Rev. Pre-Union crowned cruciform shields, scep-
ters in angles, rose at center, date either side of top crown.MAG BR. FRA ET. HIB REG. weight 4.13g
(Schneider 527; MCE 228; S 3565; Fr 324; KM 510.2). Light red tone, some tiny nicks and marks, with a
good clear face, reverse better, in PCGS holder graded XF 40, Pop 1; 1 finer in AU-55 at PCGS. There are
only 3 exmples graded at both services, together with another AU-55 at NGC.
extremely rare.
$40,000
Ex A H Baldwin, Hong Kong Auction 42, 25th February 2010, lot 1098 This coin was consigned to the auction above from an
old family collection that was formed through A H Baldwin of London in the 1920s and 1930s.
PCGS certification 34313454. The Vigo gold coinage represents the pinnacle of provenance mark currency coin collecting
rarities, not just in the reign of Queen Anne but across the whole range of British coins showing a mark or word of where the
metal was sourced to strike the coinage. The most intrepid of stories is behind the capture of the Vigo treasure as opposed to
the other companies or privateers who had their mark placed upon the coins. The Battle of Vigo Bay occurred on 23rd October
1702 and it was after the Battle that the treasure largely of silver, with a tiny proportion of gold was captured and transported
back to Southampton on the south coast of England. From there the treasure was brought with great pomp and ceremony to
London, overseen by the Mint Master himself, one Mr Isaac Newton, to then be turned into coinage at the Royal Mint in the
Tower of London. The treasure consisted of absolutely thousands of pounds in weight of silver, but a mere seven pounds and
eight ounces of gold meaning the coinage of gold Five Guineas, Guineas and Half-Guineas was very small. The Five Guinea
piece turns up most often, with the Guinea being the rarest denomination of all. We are only aware of seven example of the
gold Half-Guinea in private collections today.