(1616) Sommer Islands Sixpence, Large Portholes VF25 NGC. Breen-3, W-11445, R.6. ...

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(1616) Sommer Islands Sixpence, VF25
W-11445, Large Portholes Variety

(1616) Sommer Islands Sixpence, Large Portholes VF25 NGC. Breen-3, W-11445, R.6. Die alignment:195°. A pleasing mid-grade Sommer Islands sixpence, well-struck on a typically wavy planchet with slight traces of silvering remaining in the protected areas around the denomination and in the ship's rigging. The coin is well-centered, with more than half of the reverse dentilation visible and all design elements and lettering on-planchet. Most of the obverse legend is easily readable, with ILANDS being especially bold. The hog is softly struck, though the denomination above is clear. The crudely cut reverse ship is sharply defined in places, with all three sails distinct, three of the four portholes visible, and the charming square pennant on top of the mainmast (often indistinct) waving clearly. The reverse is faint between 4 and 6 o'clock and near the rim between 10 and 12 o'clock. The planchet is split at 3 o'clock, with a fissure also visible near 12 o'clock of the obverse. The coin is largely free of the corrosion so frequently encountered on the Sommer Islands coinage, though some light reverse roughness is noted. The color is mostly dark brown.

Although they were fiat currency with little relation between their intrinsic and statutory values, the coins saw heavy circulation among the colonial population of the islands until they were withdrawn from circulation in 1624. The present example is well above average for this issue, which is generally encountered in low grades and with green corrosion from centuries spent underground. The Bermuda Monetary Authority's Coins of Bermuda includes 19 examples of this variety in their census (most of them in institutional collections), but this piece is not among them. Listed on page 6 of the 2026 Guide Book.
Ex: FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2018), lot 4702.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# AUBF, PCGS# 5, Greysheet# 405)

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