144
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World Crowns and Minors
4076
Great Britain. Penny, ND
. S.1146. Aethelred II, 978-1016.
Second Hand type. Crack through the flan at 9 o'clock. Toned.
NGC graded AU-53.
WINGS APPROVED
Estimated Value ................................................... $700 - 900
S
PLENDID
W
ILLIAM
A
ND
M
ARY
1691 C
ROWN
4077
Great Britain. Crown, 1691
. S.3433; Dav-3780; ESC-82.
William and Mary. I over E in GVLIELMVS. With a pleasing
light grey and golden tone over fully lustrous surfaces, this
is an exceptionally well struck coin and a very rare type.
The overstrike is nice and clear. William and Mary Crowns
are usually poorly made (the die detail is especially shal-
low) and to find a specimen in top grade is a rare event.
This piece, from the first of only 2 years of issue, has never
seen circulation and surely deserves a home in a top quality
collection of English Crowns. Nicer than the Cheshire Col-
lection and Millennia Collection, the EDJ Van Roekel and the
Norweb William and Mary Crowns, this is also the finest
known example of an extremely rare variety. Catalogues at
£6000 in XF (near to $10,000)- unpriced in higher grades.
NGC graded MS-61
.
* William and Mary were spouses and first cousins. Their
joint reign started in February 1689 after they were offered
the throne by the Convention Parliament, summoned by
William after his successful invasion of England in 1688.
King James II (Mary's father and William's uncle) had fled
the country. The joint monarchs signed the English Bill of
Rights in 1689. This ended many centuries of tension
between the monarchy and parliament and put to rest the
theory that Britain would become a Roman Catholic nation
once again. Mary died in 1694 and William ruled alone until
his death in 1702.
Estimated Value ...................................... $8,000 - 10,000
