Lot 838
Bristol ? J Chester ? halfpenny...
Baldwin's - The Deane Collection - Part II | 0110
Auction: 25 May 2023 at 10:00 BST
£3,000
Description
Bristol ? J Chester ? halfpenny undated, Unidentified bust left, rev. Arms of the City of Bristol, edge PAYABLE BY T FOSTER LAMBERHURST, 29mm/8.40gm. (DH – 90-96 ?), good Extremely Fine but crudely struck with obverse die beginning to break and rev off centre, some lustre on the reverse but generally toned. Unrecorded and unique !
Ex. Simon Monks, Coinex 2007.
This portrait is totally unknown in the whole 18th century token series. The fact that there is no legend on the obverse suggests that it is a trial – did the die immediately break (suggested by the substantial obv. die break after only a trial striking) and the whole project abandoned ? The reverse is known to be a Lutwyche die which was used for the previous Chester token. Is this perhaps a portrait of J Chester, that because the obverse die broke whilst being tried, he abandoned the idea of issuing this halfpenny bearing his bust ?
