Unseen since at least 1960, the many numismatic rarities available on September 28 included this gold pattern for the ‘Afflictorum Conservatrix’ groat. Struck in 1601, the year of Elizabeth I’s ‘Golden Speech’ to Parliament, the design is by Nicholas Hilliard.
This coin (one of only two recorded in gold and deemed ‘extremely fine’) has a provenance dating back to the mid-18th century and was last sold at auction at Glendining in 1949 when it was bought by Baldwin for Hird at £135.
Estimated at £10,000-15,000, it made £400,000 – an auction high for an Elizabethan numismatic item and a house record for the Spink coin department.
