Baldwin's London Auction 71 Baldwin's London auction 71 offers a spectacular array of Indian, Islamic and Latin-American coinage. Including the Yashoda Singh Collection of Indian Coins and the Alan Harley Collection of Latin Ame
He makes no mention of sets being cased. The coins have survived in an excellent state of preservation and are evenly matched as to colour and texture. Despite Pridmore’s reference to other set(s) being known or reported to him, the cataloguer has no record of another set having been offered. It is safe to presume this flawless
set is of great rarity.
Estimate: £25,000-50,000
1529 INDIAN COINS. British India. Edward VII, 1904 Unique VIP Presentation Proof Set in official case. All in PCGS holders and graded: Rupee 1904, graded PR64; ½-Rupee 1904, graded PR64; ¼-Rupee 1903, graded PR64; 2-Anna 1904, graded PR63; Rupee 1893, graded PR64; ½-Rupee 1897, graded PR64; ¼-Rupee 1897, graded PR65; 2-Anna 1897, graded PR64 Previously unrecorded and totally unique. (8) Major Fred Pridmore in The Coins of the British Commonwealth Nations, Part 4: India, Volume 2: Uniform Coinage makes reference to the then known official proof sets made for British India. These are listed on page 199 and comprise the following: 1) 1911 Rupee, ½-Rupee, ¼-Rupee, 2-Annas silver, “Four coins in plush lined case, stamped ‘His Majesty’s Calcutta Mint’”. 2) India, 1918, 15-Rupees Gold, “one coin in official case. Bombay Mint.” 3) 1919, 8 Annas, 4-Annas, 2-Annas, Anna nickel, “two of each denomination, eight coins in official Calcutta Mint case.” 4) 1938, Rupee, ½-Rupee, ¼-Rupee, Anna, ¼-Anna, ½-Pice, 1/12-Anna silver, nickel, bronze. “A set of the first issue of George VI 1938 (seven coins), Calcutta Mint case.” 5) 1947, Rupee, ½-Rupee, ¼-Rupee, 2-Annas, Anna, ½-Anna, Pice, “A set of the last issue of George VI (seven coins) in official Mint case (evidently Bombay Mint).” his latter listed in the B A Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin, 1969, p.182. In addition to these five presentation sets Pridmore lists on page 193 through 198 various India single proof coins, either in the correct metal or otherwise. However, it can now be seen that an earlier and previously unrecorded set officially struck for a particular reason and unknown to Pridmore has survived and has been in the present collection for some thirty years. In 1904 the Colonial and Foreign Office in London gave instructions that examples of all current colonial coinage be supplied to it. The Indian mints took the instruction to heart, and not only struck proof examples of coins currently being coined, but in addition prepared dies for denominations still legally in circulation though not at the time being produced. As a result the copper ½-Anna of 1904, Pr 595, came into existence. This large coin had not been struck for circulation since 1877, though proofs had been made in 1879, 1884, 1890, 1891, and 1893. As no Edward VII coinage ½-Anna had been contemplated, though the coin was still legally current, dies were prepared to show in effect how the coin would look were it currently being struck. A second piece with a similar background is the Ceylon 5 Cents of 1904. The last of the large-size bronze 5 Cents had been struck for circulation in
