(1616) Sommer Islands Sixpence - Small Portholes

Coin Details

Auction Record

$58,750 • XF45 NGC • 01-2015 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as Breen 4, W-11440, and BMA Type Two, the Small Portholes variety of the Sommer Islands sixpence is the rarer of the two known sixpence types from this earliest English colonial coinage in the Western Hemisphere. Rated Low R.7 with fewer than 13 examples known and a finest certified grade of NGC AU50, this variety is distinguished by smaller, more delicately rendered portholes on the three-masted sailing ship depicted on the reverse. The obverse features the wild hog (or "hogge money" emblem that gives this series its popular name) with the Roman numeral VI above denoting the sixpence value, enclosed within a beaded circle with the legend SOMMER ILANDS — the early spelling of Bermuda's original English name honoring Sir George Somers, whose shipwreck on the islands in 1609 led to their permanent English settlement. The Sommer Islands coinage, struck circa 1616 in brass or copper, served the tiny Bermuda colony's commercial needs and stands as the first coinage produced specifically for an English settlement in the Americas. The Small Portholes variety is considerably rarer than its Large Portholes counterpart, making it one of the most sought-after pieces in all of colonial American numismatics. Each surviving example is individually tracked by researchers, and appearances at major auctions generate significant attention from specialists in the earliest American colonial coinage.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. Low R.7 (fewer than 13 known). Considerably rarer than the Large Portholes variety. Finest certified: NGC AU50.

Cross References

Breen 4, W-11440, BMA Type Two