The Frank Stephenson Collection of Halfcrowns : Signature Sales
The Frank Stephenson Collection of Halfcrowns
Frank was raised in a County Durham pub owned by his parents and it was here that his fascination with coins started. As a small boy, and then a young man, he would examine the contents of the till and remove any coins he liked the look of (sometimes with his parents knowledge) for his collection. Bun head Pennies were still in circulation and he craved those as well as nice condition coins. One of those coins is offered for sale in this collection and that is the 1935 halfcrown that he took from the Royal Oak till in the 60s. A young family and busy life as a coal miner and colliery undermanager meant his hobby was largely forgotten until his retirement.
From 2002 until his death he built an outstanding collection of both Halfcrowns and Pennies with the aid of his son John, who is a coin and medal dealer in the North of England. There is a secondary collection of bronze Farthings and Halfpennies which is largely complete for currency issues, but those denominations were an aside to him.
Franks knowledge and passion for Pennies and Halfcrowns was boundless and his aim was to complete the Halfcrown collection by English Silver Coins reference numbers and the Penny collection with references to both Freeman and Gouby. Quality was always the first choice but rarity often demanded settling for what was available at the time. His great regret was in letting the Colin Adams 1726 halfcrown slip through his hands in the Spink sale that he acquired some of the Charles II halfcrowns from. That date eluded him and should probably be a lesson for all of us that the time to buy 'that coin' is when you see it!
Halfcrown 1697 E over B below bust, and TVTAMEN with inverted A for V ESC 548C, VF with a slight adjustment mark on the French shield, rated R4 by ESC, (11-20 examples believed to exist), an extremely rare type with plenty of provenance, Ex-Spink Auction 21 14/1/1982, Ex-Spink Numismatic Circular July 1995 Lot 4242, Ex-Colin Adams Collection Spink 1/12/2005 Lot 462, Ex-DNW 5/12/2012 Lot 485, comes with two old tickets
Halfcrown 1678 ESC 480, Bull 479, No stop after BR, no stop after HIB NVF with some old scratches, Very Rare rated R4 by ESC, (11-20 examples thought to exist) Ex-Colin Adams collection, Spink 30/11/2005 Lot 340
Halfcrown 1703 Plain Reverse ESC 568 VG/NVG Extremely Rare, rated R4 by ESC (11-20 examples believed to exist) one of the key date/type combinations in the entire milled Halfcrown series, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 9/5/2006 Lot 267
Halfcrown 1887 Young HeadESC 717 UNC and lustrous with some contact marks, the obverse with prooflike fields and the bust frosted, Ex-Warwick and Warwick 7/3/2013 Lot 590
Halfcrown 1925 ESC 772 UNC or near so and nicely toned, the reverse a little weakly struck, nevertheless a most attractive example of this rare date with much eye appeal, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 10/5/2005 Lot 615
Halfcrown 1878 ESC 701 UNC with good subdued lustre, although many examples have been sold by us in EF grade, our archive database indicates we have only sold one UNC example since 2003, and none in the last 7 years, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 3/6/2008 Lot 461
Halfcrown 1690 SECVNDO ESC 513 with second L in GVLIELMVS struck over another L, the underlying L with a curved base, Good Fine, the reverse slightly better, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 8/1/2008 Lot 297
Halfcrown 1676 Retrograde 1 in date ESC 478A About VF with some double strike to the legends and date, Ex-DNW 21/3/2016 Lot 103, Property of a Cambridge Scholar, Ex-Downies (Melbourne) February 2010 Lot 2274
Halfcrown 1686 6 over 5 ESC 495 Fine with an edge nick at the top of the obverse, Rare, rated R3 by ESC, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 29/4/2014 Lot 390, the first example we have offered since 2003
Halfcrowns (2) 1707 Roses and PlumesESC 573 Fine with a tone spot on the obverse, Ex-Brock 26/4/2006 Lot 1469, 1707 SEPTIMO ESC 574 Fine, Ex-Carlisle 11/10/2012 Lot 80
Halfcrown 1682 82 over 79 ESC 489B VG with some weakness on the reverse, rated R3 by ESC, Very Rare, our archive database stretching back to 2003 shows this is the first example we have offered, Ex-Warwick and Warwick 16/10/2013 Lot 566
Halfcrown 1692 QVARTO, R of REGINA over G, H over B in HIB, as ESC 517A, as Bull 854, Rare, listed as R3 by ESC , Fine and toned, Ex-Tennants 12/10/2005 Lot 96 (part)
Halfcrowns (2) 1697B ESC 543 Fine or slightly better with some surface marks and scratches, and some roughness to the edge behind the bust, possibly filed in this area, Ex-London Coins Auction A137 3/6/2012 Lot 1566, 1697C ESC 545 Fine with some surface marks
Halfcrown 1672 VICESIMO QVARTO, Fourth Bust, also No stop after HIB, ESC 472, Bull 460, VG/Fine, Very Rare, rated R3 by ESC, Ex-Bonhams 20/4/2006 Lot 375 (part)
Halfcrown 1689 First Shield, Caul and interior frosted, with pearls, Second L in GVLIELMVS struck over an M, ESC 503A, Good Fine, Ex-Tennants 10/12/2014 Lot 230
Halfcrown 1698 DECIMO ESC 554 with die clashes REX under the G of GVLIELMVS, 8 and M under GRA, and 6 under the bust, VF or better with old tone and some light haymarks, clear and unusual. EX-Taylors 6/2/2010 Lot 2055
Halfcrown 1861 Fair, one of the 'missing' dates in the Young Head Halfcrown series, mentioned by way of footnote in ESC by Rayner in the 1969 edition who had heard of an example sold in a "Northern" auction in Fair in 1967 for £115. Reported as unrecorded in Royal Mint striking records, more recent opinion is that these are regarded as later forgeries struck around 1887 from worn dies, as the head types are incorrect for the period
Halfcrowns (2) 1671 as ESC 468 with A of MAG overstruck, possibly over an R, VG unlisted as such by ESC or Bull, 1675 ESC 477 About Fine/Fine with some scratches in the obverse field, Ex-Tennants 10/12/2014 Lot 152
Halfcrowns (2) 1689 First Shield, Caul only frosted, with pearls, ESC 505 Fine with some scratches, Ex-Lockdales 24/1/2010 Lot 152, 1689 First Shield, Caul only frosted, with pearls, First V of GVLIELMVS over A (or inverted V) ESC 505A, Fine with a scratch on the reverse
Halfcrowns (2) 1689 First Shield, Caul only frosted, with pearls, First V of GVLIELMVS over A (or inverted V) ESC 503B, Fine and toned, Rare, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 4/6/2013 Lot 672, 1689 First Shield, Caul only frosted. No Pearls ESC 504 Fine with 3 short scratches in the reverse field, Ex-Ex-Tennants 22/8/2012 Lot 343
Halfcrowns (2) 1700 DECIMO TERTIO ESC 562 VG with some surface pits and an edge knock by MAG, Ex-Carlisle 14/52/2013 Lot 183 (part), 1701 PlumesESC 567 VG/NF with an even grey tone, Ex-DNW 18/3/2015 Lot 50 (part)
Halfcrowns (2) 1817 Bull Head ESC 616 About EF lightly cleaned, Ex-Carlisle 22/10/2009 Lot 236, 1817 Small Head, lower loop of 8 open or not struck up, Good Fine, cleaned
Halfcrown 1696N normal N mintmark First Bust, Small shields of the slightly larger size, Ordinary Harp Fine with grey tone and surface marks ESC 538A, Extremely Rare, rated R4 by ESC, (11-20 examples believed to exist) Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 15/1/2014 Lot 618
Halfcrowns (2) 1664 Second Bust ESC 460 VG the reverse slightly better, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 9/5/2006 Lot 260, 1663 XV the V of CAROLVS with a flaw at top right, Fair with some weakness at the centre
Halfcrowns (2) 1670 ESC 467 About Fine, Ex-Tennants 21/10/2004 Lot 119, 1671 Third Bust Variety ESC 468 About Fine, Ex-Tennants 8/12/2012 Lot 228 (part)
Halfcrown 1671 1 over 0 ESC 469 VG the overstrike very clear, only rated R by ESC, but our archive database stretching back to 2003 shows this to be the first example we have offered
Halfcrowns (2) 1689 First Shield No frosting, Pearls ESC 507 Good Fine/Fine, Ex-Carlisle 10/4/2014 Lot 109, 1689 Second Shield, Caul only frosted, with pearls ESC 510 Bright Fine, Ex-Lockdales 24/1/2010 Lot 153
Halfcrowns (2) 1689 Second Shield, no frosting, with pearls ESC 511, About Fine, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction, 11/9/2012 Lot 91, 1689 Second Shield, no frosting, no pearls, ESC 512 Fine, Ex-Tennants 9/6/2010 Lot 416 (part)
Halfcrowns (2) 1821 heavier garnishing on reverse ESC 631Davies 172 dies 1B NVF Rare, 1836 6 over 5 ESC 606A GF toned, the obverse with some surface marks, Ex-Baldwins 6/2/2016 Lot 102 (part)
Halfcrowns (2) 1843 as ESC 676 with the broken R in GRATIA VG with some long thin scratches on the obverse, 1844 ESC 677 Near VF, Ex-Carlisle 19/11/2015 Lot 192
Halfcrowns (2) 1874 ESC 692 About EF with some small flecks of toning on the reverse, Ex-Tennants 18/3/2004 Lot 835, 1875 ESC 696 GVF with some contact marks, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 3/6/2008 Lot 882
Halfcrown 1690 TERTIO edge, No frosting, no pearls ESC 515, the scarcer of the two edge types for this date, Near Fine/Fine, Ex-Warwick and Warwick 15/9/2016 Lot 367
Halfcrown 1926 Modified Effigy ESC 774 UNC with a light and colourful tone, the obverse with a few minor contact marks, but overall with much eye appeal and a superior example of this type, Ex-London Coins Auction A110 5/6/2005 Lot 1559 (part)
Halfcrown 1876 ESC 699 NEF/EF with a light and pleasing tone, two small edge nicks and small flecks of toning barely detract, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 6/9/2005 Lot 453
Halfcrowns (2) 1696C First Bust, Large Shields, Ordinary Harp, ESC 531, Very Rare rated R3 by ESC, VG with waterworn surfaces, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 28/10/2014 Lot 669, 1696E First Bust, Large Shields, Ordinary Harp ESC 532 Very Rare rated R3 by ESC only Fair with surface marks, the variety very clear, Ex-Croydon Coin Auction 29/4/2014 Lot 419
Halfcrown 1697E First Bust, Large Shields ESC 547 VG/NF with some weakness at the 97 of the date, Ex-Brocks, 1697y First Bust, Large Shields Nedar Fine with a slightly uneven tone ESC 551, Ex-Tennants 15/6/2005 Lot 140 (part)
Halfcrowns (2) 1845 as ESC 679 with the 4 struck over a higher in the date NVF, Ex-Carlisle 29/3/2006 Lot 64, 1845 5 overstruck over 3? or broken 5 as ESC 679 GF/NVF, Ex-Bucks Coins 3/3/2013
Halfcrown 1696N small N mintmark First Bust, Small shields, Ordinary Harp, Bull 1084, VG with a scratch on the reverse, the first example of this type we have offered, Ex-Warwick and Warwick 17/10/2012 Lot 303 (part)