Obverse:

THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. Shield of St. George in wreath of palm and laurel.

Reverse:

1660 G[O]D WITH US. Joined shields of St. George and Ireland with value mark II VI above.

Edge a little ragged and weakly struck in parts otherwise about very fine, very rare and absent from many notable collections. Dark 'Thames' tone indicative of coins found in the Blackfriars hoard. 

The Blackfriars hoard, sometimes referred to as the 'Thames (St Pauls) Find' was found on the Thames foreshore near Blackfriars Bridge, London and contained over 1,500 coins ranging Edward VI to the Commonwealth. An rare and unusually large proportion of the coins were from the Commonwealth period and of which, 174 were halfcrowns, 6 of the year 1660, which significantly increased the known number of examples. The hoard was examined by the British Museum and subsequently returned to the finder, who sold it via Baldwins auction on 13 October 1997. 

Although this weight is not listed in the 6 examples found of this year, we question the accuracy of the published weight figures. They were published as 14.8g, 14.74g, 14.73g, 14.65g, 14.59g and 14.55g. The Colin Adams example, which is in comparable or possibly lesser condition and is provenanced to this hoard (lot 492), also weighs significantly less than the quoted figures at 14.03g. Unfortunately, weights were not recorded or published for the coins sold in Baldwin’s auction (lots 490–496), and apart from one, the examples were not illustrated. We have been unable to locate the other coins of this year to verify their weights. However, Lord Stewartby’s purchase of a 1658 shilling from the hoard (lot 583) also weighed significantly less than the published figures.