British and World Coins, Historical Medals

Charles I (1625-1649), Copper strip of eight Farthings, Richmond type 6, mm. double rose, obv. dies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 6.17g/12h (cf. Everson 111i; cf. BMC 207; S 3187A, note). Neatly broken into two and with some minor spotting, otherwise good very fine with traces of original colour, extremely rare and of considerable numismatic interest £5,000-£7,000

The method of manufacture for these farthings, and indeed other contemporary copper coins in Scotland and on the continent of Europe, was by die roller press. A copper fillet was fed between two rollers, one bearing 9 impressions of the obverse die and the other 9 impressions of the reverse die. Between the first and last die a vertical row of three pellets enabled the die wheels to be correctly aligned.The largest such strip previously known is of 9 farthings (British Museum, ex Weightman), from which the die combinations of the various extant strips, in public (and a few private) collections, have been worked out since the days of C. Wilson Peck. The only other strips of comparable size offered in recent years are of 7 farthings each (Cope Collection 1252, ex St James's Auction 10, lot 737, ex Colin Cooke, ex 'Herman Selig, Spink Auction 70, lot 114, ex Charles Firth, Spink Auction 6, lot 661; Norweb collection, dispersal untraced). A strip of 12 Farthings was offered through these rooms in 2014, achieving a hammer price of £18,000