Rare £1 coin expected to sell for £30,000

A £1 coin is up for auction this month, and is expected to sell for at least £30,000. The huge price tag is due to the historical importance - and rarity - of the coin - which was struck in 1643 at the start of the English Civil War.

It's known as the 1643 Declaration Pound, and it was made in Oxford - which is where Charles I was based after he left London. It was the first coin of a new mint, set up in New Inn Hall to create a new official currency for the parts of the country that were in Royalist control.

The inscription on the back underlines the king's confidence in his enduring power, saying: "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered." However, within six years, the monarch had been beheaded.

The coin has been passed down the generations of a single family, who had no idea what it was worth. It has been valued by Duke's Auctioneers in Dorchester, who expect it to fetch £30,000 at auction. Their expert says it is so rare that it is likely to cause a sensation among collectors - especially given that the value of coins from this period are at an all-time high.

How does it compare?

It's an important find, but it falls a long way shy of the rarest and most expensive UK coin ever sold. That title belongs to an Edward III Florin, produced between 1343 and 1344, and sold for £460,000 in 2006. The price in that instance was due to its rarity, as only three examples of the coin are known to survive. That particular coin was found by a metal detecting enthusiast, but the area where it was discovered was kept a secret, to stop others from descending on the site.

The second most valuable British coin is a much more modern example: a gold sovereign that was made to commemorate the coronation of Edward VIII in 1937. In the end, the coin was never produced for distribution, because Edward abdicated in 1936 before his coronation. The example that sold was one of only two 'proofs' in existence.

But the most valuable coin ever to feature Elizabeth II was a Canadian $1 million coin, made in 2007 and sold at auction for $4 million in 2012. There were five of the coins made: one of which is owned by the Queen. The one that sold at auction had been owned by an investment company that went bust.

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