(1616) Sommer Islands Shilling - Small Sails

Coin Details

Auction Record

$258,500 • AU55 NGC • 05-2014 • Heritage Auctions (Newman Collection)

Description

Cataloged as Breen 2, W-11460, and BMA Type One, the Small Sails variety of the Sommer Islands shilling is the largest denomination in the celebrated Hogge Money series — the earliest English colonial coinage produced for circulation in the Western Hemisphere. The Small Sails variety is distinguished by a foresail positioned away from the beaded border on the reverse, where a three-masted sailing ship represents the maritime commerce essential to the tiny Bermuda colony's survival. The obverse features the wild hog or boar that gives the series its popular "Hogge Money" nickname, with the Roman numeral XII above denoting the shilling (twelve pence) denomination, enclosed within a beaded circle with the legend SOMMER ILANDS — the early English spelling of Bermuda's name honoring Sir George Somers, whose shipwreck on the islands in 1609 (an event believed to have inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest) led to permanent English settlement. Struck circa 1616 in brass or copper, the Sommer Islands coinage served the immediate commercial needs of a colony so isolated that no other coinage circulated reliably. Rated High R.5 with approximately 30 or more examples known, the Small Sails is the more available of the two shilling varieties and the most available Sommer Islands coin overall. The finest certified example is an NGC AU55, the Newman specimen, which serves as the benchmark for the type. Despite being the most accessible entry point into the Hogge Money series, the Small Sails shilling remains genuinely scarce in all grades.

Rarity Notes

High R.5 (31-75 known). Approximately 30+ examples survive. The most available Sommer Islands variety. Finest certified: NGC AU55 (Newman specimen).

Cross References

Breen 2, W-11460, BMA Type One