MS61| Commonwealth (1649-60), gold Unite of Twenty Shillings, 1656,

MS61| Commonwealth (1649-60), gold Unite of Twenty Shillings, 1656, English shield within 14 leaf laurel and palm branch, legends in English language, initial mark sun, THE. COMMONWEALTH. OF. ENGLAND., rev. English and Irish shields, value .XX. above, beaded circle and legend surrounding, date at top, .GOD. WITH. VS., 9.09g (Schneider 344; Bull EGC 28 R4; N.2715; S.3208). With a few tiny spots and hairlines both sides, graded by NGC as MS61, a very rare date with only around ten known examples in commerce.

NGC Certification 6674772-001 – we note only one other example achieved a straight grade just one grade higher. PCGS have graded two examples also in 61 and 62 grades.

This is the largest denomination gold coin of the Commonwealth, with all hammered coins of this period being the first British coins to have legends in plain English. The gold of the third long accounting period of the Commonwealth totalled £23,111 from 1st December 1653 until 30th November 1657 which covers four different dates. The 1656 Unite is rarer than the Oliver Cromwell gold portrait Broad of the same face value and survival is actually not a great deal different from that of the Fifty Shillings also of 1656.

Provenance:
Ex St. James's Auctions, Auction 17, 24th May 2011, lot 114 - sold for £15,000 hammer.