2019-07-31 Wed

Kunker Auctions sold some extremely rare medieval period coins from 24th to 27th June. Let’s take a look at the most expensive bid today. A very rare 5 Pounds coin from Great Britain issued in 1839 under the reign of Queen Victoria was sold for €190,000 against an estimated value of €150,000. Graded as NGC PF 62 ULTRA CAMEO, the coin in Proof Finish was struck at London and featured the famous “Una and the Lion” design.

A noted poet named Edmund Spenser had described the Virgin Queen in his poem “Faerie Queene”. The coin’s historic design was based on this poem. Una represented truth and she led the Kingdom of England graciously just like Queen Victoria. The virtues of chastity, moderation, kindness, justice, generosity etc were imbibed by this female character. The coin shows Una/Victoria holding a sceptre and orb, guiding a lion which is the heraldic symbol of England.

However, the design tries to hide the humane flaws of Queen Victoria. Victoria was forced to marry Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to control her temperament. Albert died early and there were speculations that Queen Victoria was in a relationship with her servant John Brown. In some ways, the propaganda coin tries to hide the Queen's real nature.

Image Courtesy: Kunker Auctions