LONDON.- Two very rare Charles I Civil War coins minted in Hereford and the Welsh Marches will be offered in an online/ live auction at Dix Noonan Webb, the international coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists in their sale of Coins on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 11am on their website www.DNW.co.uk. They are expected to fetch £6,000-8,000 and £4,000-5,000 respectively.

Dating from 1645, the unique silver Halfcrown from the Hereford Mint, depicts King Charles I on horseback, while the reverse is unique among the silver coins of Charles I, showing an oval shield within a garter, supported by a lion and unicorn - a design normally reserved for use only on the gold coinage. Around two-dozen specimens are known to exist in private and public collections.

The extremely rare example of the so-called Welsh Marches Halfcrown, struck at an uncertain mint on the English-Welsh border, dates from 1644 - a year earlier that the Hereford example. It shows a horseman on one side and on the reverse three plumes. About a dozen of these coins are listed in the standard reference book on the series. These two specimens are from the 18th part of a Collection of English Coins that was amassed by the late Dr John Hulett and 80 coins from this particular collection will be in the auction.

Jim Brown, Coin Specialist at Dix Noonan Webb, commented: “We are offering two of the classic rarities of Charles I’s coinage. Whether a student of the Civil War or a collector of provincial coins, this is a chance not to be missed. It may be some time before a similar opportunity comes along…”