Real Rarities at Not One but Two Coin Auctions

The collection of Frank Pedersen (b. 1941) comprises almost 1,000 coins. Many are subdivided into a number of smaller themed collections as well as a die link collection, of which the latter comprises an impressive 559 pieces and was built from 1974–2019 with inspiration from the published works on type determination of the 1 skilling by the two pioneers Per Lundgren (1945) and Erik Stolberg (1973). Several of the coins have actually belonged to those very two. Frank Pedersen is known not least for his research into the fantastic 1 skilling 1771, which was produced and used over a long period of time in Denmark and Norway.

A former major in the air force, Frank Pedersen is today the foremost expert on coins produced during the reign of King Christian VII (1766–1808). His classic work “1 skilling 1771” was published in 1991. Frank Pedersen’s coin collection increased exponentially from 2000, following his decision to try to map as many as possible of the dies that were used to mint some 55 million coins in Altona, Copenhagen and Kongsberg from 1771–1786. In 2017, Pedersen was awarded the Danish Numismatic Society’s (DNF) medal of honour – the “Holger Hede medal” – for his extensive book on coins from the reign of Christian VII. He is, moreover, one of the few to have received the Norwegian Numismatic Society’s (NNF) Schive medal in both bronze and silver.

It is therefore quite momentous that Frank Pedersen’s impressive collection of 1 skilling 1771 will be going under the hammer at the Themed Auction at 2 pm on 15 October.

To have no fewer than four coins with exactly the same systematically placed countermarks on the obverse and reverse is not an everyday occurrence among collectors of countermarks, and among the curious coins, the eye is inevitably drawn to both the mirrored embossings and the professionally minted “magic coins”. Not to mention the planchet deviations: if, as a collector, you manage to acquire the heaviest, the thickest or the largest 1-skilling, you’ll be difficult to compete with. Among the unique coins, a specimen countermarked with Christian VII’s monogram, is something quite special indeed. However, the three advertising coins, V. TAGART, HUNTER and DEVIN & BOLTONS MONTREAL also rank highly among the rarities, the latter being the absolute highlight of the auction.

In addition to those mentioned and other coin specialities, the collection also contains the popular misspelled types – including the 1779 – and we strongly urge you to take a closer look at the Kongsberg types and the early Altona types in particular in this type collection. Finally, the Danish 1/3 speciedaler (without year) and the Norwegian 1 skilling 1824, both struck on 1 skilling 1771 are worth a mention.

Today, the world’s largest knowledge bank on the 1 skilling 1771 can be found on the website “1771skilling.com”, where Norwegian coin expert Eivind Lotsberg has described and illustrated a total of 585 obverse dies, 641 reverse dies and 985 obverse/reverse links. He is thus only a few percent shy of having mapped what is thought to exist today in the way of dies and die links. The website is in every way an eldorado of knowledge about the 1771 skilling. Lotsberg’s die numbers have therefore been chosen as the primary key for identifying several of the coins for sale at the auction (the die number prefix AO/A stands for Altona Obverse/reverse, CO/C is Copenhagen Obverse/reverse and KO/K is Kongsberg Obverse/reverse).

The entire selection of our regular Coin Online Auction 15 October is published at our website on 2 October.