Auction 44, our premier annual sale, is online now! Closing Wednesday, March 12th 2025. Read on as we discuss the pieces chosen for our catalog cover, plus one more.

The stars of the cover and the sale are the two queens, cousins and competitors...gold coins related to Mary Stuart and the crown from the final year of the life of Elizabeth I. These two towering figures from the 16th century now lie near each other in Westminster Abbey.

For Mary-a Lion (20 shillings) from early in her life before she was married to Francis along with a ducat from the reign of her father whose early death resulted in her becoming queen as a six-day old infant. She grew up in the French court with Francis, heir to the French throne, who became her first husband. This happy marriage ended with his premature death in 1560 when she was just 18. Her life from then on took several turns -often bad turns that were partly her own fault-ending finally in 1569 after 19 years in captivity when she was 44. Elizabeth signed the death warrant with some reluctance along with several other unrelated documents as a way of softening the significance of the act. When informed of the execution, Elizabeth was in shock and claimed that she had signed as a precaution and that the warrant was to be held, not filled.

For Elizabeth, a silver crown with a "2" mintmark reflecting the final year of her reign. She died in March 1603, aged 69, and had ruled England for 45 years. By the time of her death, Elizabeth had deteriorated physically. She regretted the death of Mary for the rest of her own life. Their kinship and relationship is a 16th century tale of tragedy. The whole story is much more complex than the relationship of these two women. Mary was cast into uncertainty and intrigue by some of her followers and accused by some of her many enemies. Elizabeth was a strong queen but not so strong as her father, Henry VIII, who kept his courtiers and consultants under control. Elizabeth was influenced by figures like William Cecil, Francis Walsingham and others concerned about their own power under Elizabeth.

Though not included on the cover, the three pound piece or portrait ryal of Mary completes the set of Scottish gold offered here. This is the only portrait struck in gold available for Mary Queen of Scots. The issue was produced while the teenaged Mary was in the French court of Henry II, betrothed to his son the Dauphin Francis. Her likeness was probably taken from a chalk drawing, now in the French Bibliotheque Nationale, by Francois Clouet, a French Renaissance miniaturist and painter most famous for his detailed portraits of the French royal family.

And there is more to see once you pass the cover! We will be back with a few select highlights from each section of the sale between now and the close on March 12th.

To browse the online and print catalogs, see:
https://davcoin.com/sale/Printed%20Auction%2044
https://davcoin.com/pdf-viewer/52964

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
DAVISSONS AUCTION 44 ANNOUNCED(https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n07a23.html)