Anne (1702?14), Pattern Gold Farthing, 1713, by J. Croker, draped

Anne (1702?14), Pattern Gold Farthing, 1713, by J. Croker, draped bust left, ANNA AVGVSTA, reverse struck en médaille, Peace in chariot pulled by two horses, date below in exergue, PAX.MISSA.PER. ORBEM, edge plain, wt 9.53g (BMC 761, dies 5+G, W&R 63). Delightful reddish tone and much underlying brilliance. Of the highest rarity. Encapsulated by NGC as AU55.

Ex. Virgil Brand, Sotheby, 1st July 1982 Lot 202. Hammer £19,000.

It has long been regarded that excessively rare British gold proofs and patterns have always been undervalued compared to US coins. It is worth noting that in the Sincona British Collection of Coins Part 3, sold on 24 October 2022, lot 1319 – a 1790 pattern halfpenny pattern by Droz, struck in gold, fetched a price of 150,000 Swiss Francs + the buyer's premium. The Queen Anne farthing in gold is undoubtedly much rarer and far more appealing.

Only 4 different Queen Anne farthings were struck in gold, and each is a numismatic masterpiece and a tribute to the 18th century engraver's art. Each example in gold is awarded the accolade of 'Rarity 6' (only 3?5 specimens known, including museums and private institutions) by Wilson and Rasmussen.

We know of only of this example and one other ever having been offered for sale on the open market. Gold farthings of Anne are rarer than the 1933 Penny, the 1937 Edward VIII brass threepence and countless other celebrated and classic British numismatic rarities.

This gold pattern with the 'Peace in Biga' reverse – widely regarded as the most attractive and most desirable of the four types of Anne farthing available. Peck mentions that although all pattern Queen Anne farthings were struck from dies by John Croker (who had succeeded to the post of Chief Engraver in 1705) some of them bear novel reverse types – reputedly designed at the suggestion of Dean Swift to commemorate important events in the Queen's reign. The 'Peace in Biga' design refers to the Peace of Utrecht.

The War of the Spanish Succession (1702?1713) raged for almost the whole of Anne's reign. This conflict – in which the British and Dutch fought side by side against the French – ran a very different course to previous wars. The armies and fleets were larger and more expensive; both sides showed greater determination, so the war lasted longer, the operations were more destructive of life and property; they moved at greater speed and over greater distances. This last change was partly due to the military genius of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, who never lost a battle. The war ended with the Peace of Utrecht 1713, which was embodied in six treaties between the major and minor participants. It was not completed until the last subsidiary treaty was signed in 1715, but it was the most successful pacification of Europe that had ever been negotiated.