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This week I am in the company of Toovey’s Coin specialist, Mark Stonard. He shows me an Elizabeth II London Mint Office gold and silver proof angel two-coin set dating from 2022. Cased and with its certificate it has just sold in his specialist coin sale for £2400.
Mark explains “Gold-angel coins were introduced during the reign of Edward IV in 1465. The obverse depicts the Archangel Michael defeating the devil who is represented as a dragon. These coins were often known as touch pieces and were thought to bring good fortune and healing. This tradition was also employed using coins given by the King or Queen in a ceremony which illustrated the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ before God. People of royal blood were thought to have the God-given power of healing through touch which is why the coins became known as touch pieces. Coins which depicted the defeat of the Devil were favoured and emphasised the monarch’s divinely given healing power.”
I ask Mark about the London Mint Office The Royal Mother and Son sovereign two-coin set, comprising an Elizabeth II sovereign 1957 and a Charles III sovereign 2023, which realised £1300 in the same sale.
Mark replies “The history of the Sovereign is interesting. In 1489 Henry VII ordered the officers of the Royal Mint to produce a new money of gold. It wasn’t the first English gold coin but it was certainly the largest and most important at that date. The coin became a symbol of stability and power and every monarch had their own versions struck up until James I in 1603. The Sovereign was reintroduced in 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo when it was found that there was demand for a new 20 shilling gold coin. The new coin was produced in 1817. It was about half the size and weight of the first Sovereign. The reverse was decorated in relief with a depiction of St George defeating the dragon designed by Benedetto Pistrucci. He was one of the world’s most celebrated gem engravers at that time and it shows in the quality of his design. His design was used until 1825 and then reintroduced for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. It’s appeared on every subsequent Sovereign to the present day.”
Whether your passion is for Saxon Sceats or a gold proof Sovereign Mark’s is always delighted to share his knowledge and passion for coins.
Rupert Toovey is a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington – www.tooveys.com – and a priest in the Church of England Diocese of Chichester.