In March 2022 The Royal Mint will auction a rare ‘pattern piece’ that was used to create the famous Una and the Lion coin design.
Although they resemble coins, pattern pieces are early prototypes used by The Royal Mint to test the finish and quality of new designs.
The opportunity to bid on this is incredibly rare as pattern pieces rarely become available to the public. For collectors, this is an incredibly desirable addition.
On Sunday, March 6 at 2pm The Royal Mint will offer the 1 kilo, solid gold Una and the Lion trial pattern piece along with 74 other lots (85 total pieces with one lot containing ten pieces) to the public via an online auction.
(The Royal Mint)
You can register for the auction on the Royal Mint website now.
The design of the Una and the Lion is one of the most coveted British coins, and an original Una and the Lion can reach £500,000 depending on its condition.
In 2019 The Royal Mint remastered the collection, and the newer versions have already started to command higher prices on the secondary market – often fetching up to 10 times their original value.
Rebecca Morgan, Director of Collector Services for The Royal Mint, comments: “Over our 1,100 year history we have made some of the world’s most famous and rare coins, including the 1839 Una and the Lion design.
“We remastered the range in 2019, and this trial pattern piece played an essential part in ensuring the design met our exacting standards. As a numismatic rarity, we expect the Una and the Lion trial pattern piece to be highly desirable when it’s offered alongside other Royal Mint exclusives at auction next month.
“Pattern pieces command some of the highest prices in the secondary market especially when compared to the regular issues of the time. The 1663 pattern “Petition” crown in EF (extremely fine condition) for £525,000 versus the 1663 Crown in EF £10,000 so we anticipate this piece being of global interest…
Source : times
