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QUEEN ANNE 'VIGO' GOLD FIVE GUINEA SOLDLast month we ran a story about the Queen Anne 'Vigo' five guinea gold coin found in a boy's toy box. Here's the
follow-up from the Daily Mail, forwarded by David Pickup. -Editor
 A labourer who found one of Britain's rarest coins in his four-year-old son's toy treasure chest is celebrating today after it sold for more than £270,000. The 35-year-old had been given the 'lost' 300-year-old Queen Anne Vigo five guinea coin by his late grandfather 30 years ago to play pirate games with. After he bought his own son a treasure chest, he dug the shiny gold coin out of a drawer and gave it to him to play with. But he decided to show it to an auctioneer when he suspected it might not be a replica that he always assumed it to be, and produced it from his pocket in a handful of other coins. Expert Gregory Tong told the unnamed man it was one of five lost coins out of 20 that were struck with gold seized by the British from Spanish treasure ships at the Battle of Vigo in 1702. It sold today for a hammer price of £225,000. With fees added on, the overall price paid was more than £270,000. Mr Tong said: 'When I first told the vendor what it could be worth, he couldn't believe it. He came back to see me the next day to see if I had been pulling his leg.' The coin was made 314 years ago and was the first British coin ever to feature the name of the battle it was won in. The series of Queen Anne 'Vigo' five guinea pieces were produced as part of an attempt to detract attention from the failure of the British to capture the Spanish port of Cadiz, highlighting instead the haul of treasure they seized on their way home. Even in 1703, when Sir Isaac Newton oversaw their production when he was master of the Royal Mint, they would have been extremely expensive and bought only by the rich. E-Sylum readers may recall that another one of these (in lesser condition) was discovered in 2012 and sold for £120,000.
Amazing that two of these rare pieces were discovered outside of numismatic circles. -Editor
To read the complete article, see: David sent along the catalogue description for the recently-sold piece, which says it was only the 6th known example offered for sale in 50 years: Lot 116 An Extremely Rare Queen Anne 'Vigo' Five Guinea Gold Coin: "Vigo" beneath shoulder variant, as in The Royal Mint Sir Isaac Newton room example, with cross patee stop to the edge, with title "Decus Et Tutamen Anno Regni Secundo", weight 41.9 grams. Note: The coin is one of only twenty made from the 7.5lbs of gold seized from Spanish treasure ships by the British in Vigo Bay, northern Spain, on 23rd October, 1702. The British fleet had failed in its attempt to take Cadiz but managed to seize gold and silver from Franco-Spanish treasure ships coming back from America. Struck the following year, the coins were made as part of an attempt to detract attention from the British failure at Cadiz, highlighting instead the haul of treasure they seized on their way home. The treasure was delivered with full pageantry through London and received at the Royal Mint by the Master of the Mint, Sir Isaac Newton. This coin is only the sixth example to be offered for sale in the last 50 years. Estimate : £ 200000 - 250000 Event Date : 2016-11-16 David Pickup forwarded a 2005 Antiques Trade Gazette article about examples of the coin sold over the years by Spink,
Glendinings and Dix Noonan Webb. -Editor
To read the complete article, see: David also noted that there is a specimen in the British Museum. -Editor
 To read the complete collection record, see: David adds: Let's just hope the Spanish don't want it back! To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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