1714 Shilng Gloucester

Coin Details

Auction Record

$90,000 F12 05-08-2022 Heritage Auctions

Description

The 1714 Gloucester Shilling is one of the most famous and rarest coins in all of American colonial numismatics. Struck in silver in Gloucester County, Virginia, this shilling is one of the earliest known silver coins produced in the British colonies on American soil. The obverse features a star or sun device with the legend GLOUCESTER COVRT HOVSE VIRGINIA, explicitly identifying its place of origin, while the reverse displays a five-pointed star device with the abbreviated denomination SHILNG (shilling). The coin was apparently produced by or for Richard Dawson, who kept an ordinary (tavern) near the Gloucester County courthouse. The 1714 date places the coin during the reign of Queen Anne (who died in August 1714), at a time when the Virginia colony was experiencing the chronic shortage of hard currency that plagued all the British American colonies. Small-denomination silver coins were desperately needed for local commerce, and the Gloucester Shilling may represent a private attempt to fill this monetary void. The crude but legible die work indicates local production with limited resources. Only a handful of genuine examples are known to survive, making this one of the most coveted items in colonial numismatics. Its survival provides rare physical evidence of private coinage production in colonial Virginia, a practice that was technically unauthorized but sometimes tolerated by authorities who recognized the colonies' need for circulating currency.

Rarity Notes

One of the great rarities of American numismatics. Fewer than 10 examples are known. Seven-figure auction prices are expected. The most recent auction appearance generated extraordinary collector interest.

Cross References

PCGS #88; NGC #108107; Breen 114; Gloucester County, Virginia 1714; Dawson attribution; one of the earliest American-made silver coins