(1888PressRelease)
May 08, 2007 - Being offered in a No Reserve Auction is... A rarely seen Specimen of a British Farthing TB/BB Mule. This is one of the highest grades ever placed in auction, this unique piece has been attributed, graded and slabbed by PCGS…and comes with a letter of authentication from Ron Guth, the President of PCGS.
JUST WHAT IS A MULE? Mules are not pack animals, but rather coins struck with mismatched dies; that is, the obverse is from one issue and the reverse from another. It is believed that these coins were the result of a rush at the mint to change coinage over from one type to another causing the mistake, or the die from an earlier issue was substituted for the proper one. Sometimes in Medieval times this was done on purpose to continue using a die unitl it was completely worn out as they were expensive to produce.
Earlier recorded sales of similar coins brought incredible interest from the numismatic community In 2006 a similar mule with a lesser grading was sold thru a major auction house in the UK for 1750 lb sterling or the equivelant of $3,549 U.S. and another was sold for 1450 Lbs Sterling or the equivalent of $2,900 U.S. Due to the High Grading and provenance of this coin the Sale Price is expected to be substansionally more than what has been previously paid…the coin has been in the Private Collection of a Retired Coin Dealer and has not been seen for over 15 Years.
