Desperate dash for a proof coin to seal royal approval before king's death
Soon after the Italian coin engraver Benedetto Pistrucci moved to England in 1815, he received a prestigious task from William Wellesley-Pole, the Master of the Mint. He was commissioned with the creation of a series of new gold coins for George III.
An exceedingly rare proof of his £5 coin from 1820 took top honours at Künker’s (25% buyer’s premi…