NGC-certified Collection of English Milled Silver Coins Featured in October Sale

The Mildenhall Collection of English Milled Silver, entirely certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company™ (NGC®), is being offered in a sale by Classical Numismatic Group (CNG) taking place on October 13, 2021. Online bidding is already open for Keystone Auction 5, which features coins spanning almost 300 years of British numismatic history. This is the first time that CNG has offered a collection of coins graded exclusively by NGC.

“We are very excited to bring the Mildenhall Collection to market at this time when there is such strong interest in English coins worldwide,” comments David Guest of CNG. “After the meteoric rise in prices for English milled gold coins in recent years we strongly believe that the English milled silver series represents many opportunities and very good value for collectors.”

The Septimo Crown

A spectacularly toned Silver Crown from the reign of George IV holds the top spot in the sale with an estimate of $10,000. The Great Britain 1826 Septimo Crown graded NGC PF 64 (lot 124) is from a Proof-only mintage of only 150 pieces. Its obverse features a bare-headed portrait of King George IV by renowned engraver William Wyon, while the reverse shows a crowned Shield of the Royal Arms designed by Jean Baptiste Merlen.

Great Britain 1826 Septimo Crown graded NGC PF 64 Click images to enlarge.

The first “milled” Crown of England

Another historic rarity in the sale is the first Crown produced in England using a screw press. the coin depicts Oliver Cromwell, who led the United Kingdom as Lord Protector for much of the 1649-1660 Interregnum, when England did not have a monarch. The England 1658/7 Cromwell Crown graded NGC MS 61 (lot 1) has an estimate of $7,500.

England 1658/7 Cromwell Crown graded NGC MS 61 Click images to enlarge.

Other silver rarities

Other fascinating highlights in the auction include:

• an England, 1662 Crown – No Rose, No Edge Date graded NGC AU 53 (lot 2) with an estimate of $5,000
• an England 1686 Crown – No Stops graded NGC AU 58 (lot 15) with an estimate of $5,000
• a Great Britain 1716 Plumes & Roses Crown graded NGC MS 62 (lot 76) with an estimate of $5,000
• a Great Britain 1723 SSC Half Crown graded NGC MS 63 (lot 78) with an estimate of $5,000
• an England 1663 Half Crown graded NGC AU 58 (lot 5) with an estimate of $4,000
• an England 1687 Tertio Crown graded NGC MS 63 (lot 16) with an estimate of $4,000
• an England 1685 Half Crown graded NGC MS 62 (lot 17) with an estimate of $4,000
• an England 1700 Dvodecimo Crown graded NGC MS 64 (lot 27) with an estimate of $4,000
• an England 1703 Vigo Crown graded NGC AU 58 (lot 55) with an estimate of $4,000
• a Great Britain 1723 SSC Crown graded NGC AU 58 (lot 77) with an estimate of $4,000
• a Great Britain 1750 Crown graded NGC MS 61 (lot 88) with an estimate of $4,000

More on the Mildenhall Collection

The Mildenhall Collection was formed over the course of nearly 70 years by a collector from Suffolk, England. The first acquisitions were made when the collector was a boy in the 1950s, and he later developed the intention of forming a representative collection of British types and, from the later 19thCentury, dates of all denominations that were struck for circulation.

An unusually high proportion of the coins in the Mildenhall Collection have beautiful cabinet toning and many have provenances from the sales of famous collections such as Manville, Lord Hamilton of Dalzell, Lingford, Paget and Bridgewater House.

The collection begins with the magnificent Cromwell Crown dated 1658 and concludes with the last coins of Elizabeth II struck prior to decimalization of the currency in 1970.

All estimates provided by the auction house.