Charles I (1625-1649), Worcester mint, Halfcrown, 1644/3, mm. castle on obv. only, w below horseman, Declaration in two lines, three crude Bristol plumes above, date below, 13.65g/7h (Bull 666/1 (12c-3); Allen A-1; SCBI Brooker 1139; N 2598; S 3093). Double-struck on reverse, otherwise better than fine, very rare £2,000-£3,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Michael Gietzelt Collection of British and Irish Coins (1625-1660).

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Provenance: Sotheby Auction, 14 December 1973, lot 87; B.J. Dawson Collection, DNW Auction 156, 21 March 2019, lot 92.

Like the uncertainty surrounding the Late Declaration issues, these coins have now been re-attributed. Previously given to a Royalist mint at Weymouth, it is now considered more likely that the mint was actually Worcester (SCBI Brooker pp.xliii-xliv). As in the case of the Late Declaration types, there is a definite link with the coins of Bristol. This type, which stands at the head of the series, has a reverse die, with the date altered from 1643, which was previously used at Bristol. All subsequent issues from this mint show crowned royal arms on the reverse