STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. Prooflike Shilling – ‘Fine Work’ (30mm, 5.95 g, 2h). Group D, type 3b. London mint; im: bell. Struck 1634-1635. EF.

CNG Feature Auction 133
Lot: 875. Estimated: $ 10 000

British, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 12 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. Prooflike Shilling – ‘Fine Work’ (30mm, 5.95 g, 2h). Group D, type 3b. London mint; im: bell. Struck 1634-1635. Crowned fourth bust left; XII (mark of value) to right / Coat-of-arms; plumes above. Sharp (HLL) E2/3 and p. 175; Brooker 491A/490 (same obv./rev. dies); North 2226; SCBC 2793. Toned with underlying brilliance. EF. Struck with great care on a perfectly round flan. Very rare and among the finest known.

Ex Slaney Collection (Part I, Spink 163, 15 May 2003), lot 47; Virgil M. Brand Collection; T. Bliss Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 15 May 1916), lot 375; H. Clark Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 23 May 1898); lot 224; S. Rostron Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 16 May 1892), lot 266; Lord Hastings Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, 15 November 1880), lot 500 (part of).

Among the Tower shillings of Charles I are a group of extraordinarily well made and struck coins. Termed “pieces of fine work” in the catalog of the Brooker Collection, these coins were always struck from the finest dies, often on specially prepared, perfectly round machine-made flans. More so than mere ‘fine work,’ those coins struck on machine-made flans pieces warrant further designations of ‘proof’ or ‘prooflike,’ depending on the quality of the particular issue. Whatever their purpose, they are only found with the first mintmark for a new portrait or reverse type and were clearly made with exceptional care.

Four issues of full proof quality strikes can be identified: Sharp D1/1 (im harp. Brooker 471), Sharp E2/3 (im bell. Brooker 491A), Sharp F1/1 (im tun. Brooker 514A), and Sharp B5/2 (im heart. Brooker 454). The present coin exhibits a proof obverse die of Sharp E2/3 paired with a circulation issue reverse die of the special plumes type used to indicate a Welsh source of the silver. Struck on a machine-made flan, this coin is fitting of the ‘prooflike’ designation.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 133 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 15-16 September 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 133 – Session Three – Lot 595-896 will be held Wednesday morning, 16 September 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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