NGC-certified ‘Una and the Lion’ 15-piece Set Realizes $468,000 at Spink Auction

Vintage gold coins struck for English royalty that are now certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) topped a recent Spink Auction. A 15-coin proof set that includes an “Una and a Lion” was the centerpiece of the sale, held January 17, 2021.

The top lot was the NGC-certified Great Britain 1839 Victoria Proof Set, which realized $468,000 USD. It contains coins from the Farthing all the way up to the 5 Sovereign, whose “Una and the Lion” design makes its one of the greatest coins in all of numismatics. The coin shows a bust of the young Queen Victoria on the obverse. The reverse shows Victoria guiding a lion, a scene inspired by Edmund Spenser’s epic poem “The Faerie Queen.”

Great Britain 1839 "Una and the Lion" Five Sovereign graded NGC PF 62+ Ultra Cameo Realized: $468,000 Click images to enlarge

While the Una and the Lion was struck to celebrate the beginning of Victoria’s reign, a coin from two centuries earlier was forged for a king under fire. Charles I struck coins known as the Triple Unite at the mint in Oxford, where he had fled during the English Civil War. The sale featured an example of the England 1643 Triple Unite, graded NGC MS 61, that realized $156,000 USD.

England 1643 Triple Unite graded NGC MS 61 Realized: $156,000 Click images to enlarge

Other NGC-certified highlights from the sale and a second Spink sale held the same day with additional English gold rarities included:

• an England 1701 Plain Sceptres 5 Guineas graded NGC MS 62+ and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £84,000 (about $115,000 USD)
• an England 1688 5 Guineas graded NGC MS 62 and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £81,000 (about $111,000 USD)
• an England 1692 Elephant and Castle 5 Guineas graded NGC AU 58 and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £48,000 (about $66,000 USD)
• an England 1685 Plume on Reverse Shilling graded NGC AU 55 and pedigreed to the Roy Francis Collection that realized $74,000
• a Great Britain 1831 "W.WYON" Crown graded NGC PF 64+ Cameo and pedigreed to the Roy Francis Collection that realized $72,000
• an England 1656 Broad graded NGC MS 63★ and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £50,400 (about $69,000 USD)
• a Great Britain 1729 E.I.C. 5 Guineas graded NGC AU 58 and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £40,800 (about $56,000 USD)
• a Great Britain 1746 Lima 5 Guineas graded NGC AU 58 and pedigreed to the Sir Rodney Sweetnam Collection that realized £39,600 (about $54,000 USD)
• a Great Britain 1798 Shilling graded NGC AU 58 and pedigreed to the Slaney Collection that realized £27,600 (about $38,000 USD)
• an England 1673 5 Guineas graded NGC AU 53 that realized $27,600
• a Great Britain 1831 2 Sovereign graded NGC PF 61 Ultra Cameo and pedigreed to the Hayleigh Collection that realized $26,400

Prices realized include buyer’s premium.