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HANOVER. George IV. 1820-1830. PB/Tin Splasher for a Two Pound die hub (matrix) (30mm, 2.93 g). London mint. By Jean Baptiste Merlen. Struck 1823. GEORGIUS IIII D : G: BRITANNIAR : REX F : D :, bust left (All in intaglio). Reverse with paper still attached. For intended coin, see: W&R 218; Bull, Gold II 946; SCBC 3798. For intended hub, see Hocking 696 or 697. A few marks and scratches. Mostly as made. Extremely rare.
CNG is proud to offer this historic group of “splashers.” Also known as “progress proofs,” these uniface pieces were most often made by engravers as they worked to check their progress in correct relief. They are distinct from other die trials, which were generally made from dies set into the coining press, and were made by gently hand pressing the die face onto a small amount of molten lead or tin that had been placed onto a piece of paper. The paper survives on a few examples in this group, even preserving a few letters of words of the original print. They are an engraver’s numismatic scratch paper, pieces of ephemera that were never meant to be preserved or to survive.
Splashers for several kinds of dies are included in this group. By the early 19th century, most major European mints did not engrave the dies directly by hand, but would employ a hub (also known as a matrix) bearing the intended designs in relief, rather than incuse, which would then be used to strike the dies themselves. This enabled mints to strike a more standardized and uniform the coins through easily reproducible dies. To create hubs, engravers would first carve a master die (also known as a patrix), bearing the design in incuse, as on the regular dies, which would then be used to make the hub. An impression from a finished master die may look nearly identical to a coinage die, though one with an unfinished design would most likely have been produced from the master die.
All examples in this group are of dies that were created at the Royal Mint in London from about 1823 to 1841. Three engravers were particularly active in this period: Benedetto Pistrucci, William Wyon, and Jean Baptiste Merlen. Pistrucci, who had arrived in England in 1815, served as de facto Chief Engraver from 1821-1828, though as a foreigner he could not officially hold that position. The role was vacant for several years, during which time William Wyon held the role of second engraver. Both men felt they were entitled to the chief position. As a compromise, William Wyon was appointed Chief Engraver in 1828, with Pistrucci given the new position of Chief Medallist, with the salary of second engraver split between them – an awkward situation, to be sure. Into this tense work environment arrived the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Merlen in 1820.
Previously employed in Paris, Merlen excelled at the intricate heraldic designs so popular at the time, and was recommended to Master of the Mint William Pole as, “a skilful engraver on steel, and particularly in the arms and ornamental work usually struck on the Reverse of the Coins.” (Challis, p. 92). The three men mostly worked in a pattern where the obverses would be engraved by either Wyon or Pistrucci, with Merlen mostly left to handle the reverses. One notable exception to this rule occurred in 1823, when Pistrucci refused to engrave a bust of the king after the sculptor Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, and the obverse of the 1823 Two Pound was given to the Frenchman instead. Forrer (p. 38) suggests that Merlen retired or died around the accession of Queen Victoria, though in actuality he worked at the mint until 1844, when he retired to France. (Challis, p. 492-493)
An overwhelming number of the splashers in this group were made by Jean Baptiste Merlen. The 1823 pattern crowns are particularly well represented, including examples from hubs and unfinished master dies of both the type with the engraver’s signature and the extremely rare type without it (lots 1094-1099). Splashers for two pattern crown reverses are present in various states of polish (lots 1103-1109), as well as for reverse dies that would be adopted and long used for the Victorian silver coinage (lots 1114-1116). Several splashers are for dies not preserved in the Royal Mint Collection and known from only a single pattern coin (lots 1110, 1112-1113). An incomplete pattern Halfcrown obverse is completely unpublished and otherwise unknown (lot 1101). The vast majority are of types that are or now must be attributed to Merlen, though one example each is present for both Wyon and Pistrucci.
As the preponderance of types are tied to Jean Baptiste Merlen in some way, it is certain that this group once belonged to the engraver himself. These are the first examples that CNG has offered since CNG 111 (29 May 2019), lot 1140 (hammer $2750, also coincidentally of Merlen) and Triton XXII (7 January 2019), lot 1434 (hammer $2250). All examples at a minimum are extremely rare and arguably unique, depending how one factors in the state of completion of the die.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Four – Lot 889-1124 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 19 May 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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