RARE 'UNA AND THE LION' FIVE POUNDS AMONG DIX NOONAN WEBB HIGHLIGHTS

A superb example of the 'Una and the Lion' Proof Five Pounds is expected to fetch up to £100,000 at Dix Noonan Webb A magnificent example of what is arguably one of the world's most beautifulcoins is expected to fetch up to £100,000 at an auction of Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals to be held by the international specialists Dix Noonan Webb in London on 15 March 2017. The gold British'Una and the Lion' Proof Five Pounds dating from 1839 will be one of the highlights of the sale, which will also include a gold George V Proof Crown from 1935, estimated at up to £40,000.

Una and the Lion are characters in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene written between 1590 and 1611. The reverse of the coin designed by William Wyon depicts Queen Victoria as Una guiding theBritish lion. The design is an unusual one which has given the coin its familiar name of the Una and the Lion Five Pound piece. The obverse of the coin has William Wyon's famous Young Head portraitof Queen Victoria. There is no evidence that these coins were ever struck for circulation. All the indications are that they were only intended to be proof coins and were primarily made for inclusionin the specimen sets of the first Victorian coins.

Only a few hundred were struck and a number of different variations can be found among the surviving pieces. There are different types of edge, differing patterns of ornamentation on the queen'shairbands and the reverse can read either DIRIGE DEUS GRESSUS MEOS (May the Lord direct my steps) or DIRIGIT instead of DIRIGE (The Lord directs my steps). The coin to be auctioned at Dix Noonan Webbreads DIRIGE, has a plain edge and, apart from some minor surface marks, is otherwise virtually as struck. The estimate is £80,000 to £100,000.

The George V 1935 Proof Crown in gold is expected to sell for up to £40,000 A George V Proof Crown in gold dating from 1935 will also be auctioned by Dix Noonan Webb. Only 30 of these are known tohave been struck, five being consigned to museums and the remaining 25 balloted for in accordance with the practice of the time. This example has minimal surface marks and is otherwise virtually asstruck. It is estimated at £30,000 to £40,000.

Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton Street
London W1J 8BQ
Telephone: 020 7016 1700.
https://www.dnw.co.uk/