Undated (ca. 1652-1674) St. Patrick Farthing. Martin 1c.5-Ba.4, W-11500. Rarity-6. Copper. Nothing Below King. AU-50 (PCGS).
116.8 grains. An extremely high quality St. Patrick farthing with choice surfaces, beautiful color, and an excellent strike. Glossy light olive-brown with tan on the devices, a distinctive and highly attractive color scheme that highlights the bold detail and gives the coin a stunning cameo appearance even from a distance. Subdued brassy color on the crown shows a perfectly placed splasher. There are traces of original glossy mint luster in the fields, especially toward the rims, only light wear on the high points, and no marks or other notable blemishes. It's clear this coin circulated very little and was handled carefully throughout the rest of its life. Boldly struck on a fairly heavy planchet of good metal. Noticeably broader and thicker than average which enhances the impressive visual appeal. There is just a touch of strike weakness at the R of REX and corresponding C of QVIESCAT, otherwise the detail is remarkably sharp with seldom seen definition on the crown, king, and saint. This piece represents the Martin 1-B die groups, obverse with nothing below the king and reverse with no punctuation following PLEBS. A lovely, top tier example of the type and certainly one of the finest known examples of the die variety as well.
PCGS# 902861.
From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Fred Baldwin, May 1963; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Norweb Collection Part II, March 1988, lot 2338; Coin Rarities Online, April 2009; Jim LaSarre, December 2009.