Groats

WMH-7530: Richard II Hammered Silver Medieval Groat. Group 1, London mint, initial mark Cross Pattee, Spink 1678. Lord Stewartby states that whilst production of gold throughout the reign remained constant, silver was somewhat erratic and far from prolific. During the reign of Richard II (even at the end of Edward III), and most definitely going through the subsequent reign of Henry IV, silver was haemorrhaging out of England to the Continent at an alarming rate which was compounded by the fact that the country was far from awash with silver in the first place - the price of silver on the Continent was greater than in England and cross-channel merchants were quick to take advantage. A very nice grade coin for issue – this example was recently through Baldwins’ and really isn’t that much better. As in the Baldwins’ example, the regnal name is as clear as anything. Rare coin. £1,050

Pennies

WMH-7901: Richard II Hammered Silver Penny. Cross or lis on breast, cross before CIVI TAS DVn OLM - a rare single issue from the Durham mint. Spink 1697. Initial mark cross pattee and with good legends. Collectors will be aware how poor Richard II pennies are (not so much the halfpennies though) but these are virtually always York pennies. You very rarely see a Durham Richard II penny and rarer still do you find them in this grade. Find a better example! Much underrated in Spink, at least in my opinion. £685

Halfpennies

WMH-7185: Richard II Hammered Silver Medieval Halfpenny. Intermediate issue – no marks on breast, 1377-99, London mint. Spink 1699. A nice grade example. £115

WMH-7279: Richard II Medieval Hammered Silver Half Penny. Class IIIa, 1377-99, London mint. Spink 1700. An attractive, higher grade example. £195

WMH-7295: Richard II Medieval Hammered Silver Round Half Penny. Type IV (immediately preceding the Henry IV coinage), 1377 - 1399, London mint. Spink 1700A. An excellent portrait coin. £145

WMH-8021: Richard II Medieval Hammered Silver Excellent Portrait Piece Halfpenny. Intermediate style with no marks on breast or in the field. London mint - lombardic n's. Spink 1699. An excellent portrait of the "mean-spirited knave but also a fool who has cast himself in the role of tragic hero, a role that no one else in the play takes seriously, and whose fall is directly due to his own folly”, otherwise known as Richard II - at least that's how Shakespeare saw fit to depict him, but then Richard was definitely not Shakespeare's favourite name when it came to kings! This coin is better than the Spink plate coin which was the very best example they could find with all their vast resources. Ex old Mike Vosper ticket. £225

Henry IV (1399-1413) Read about Henry IV

Heavy Coinage (1399 – 1412)

Penny

York

WMH-7423: Henry IV Hammered Silver Medieval Penny. Heavy Coinage, 1399 - 1412. 0.95g. York mint, Spink 1722. An Episcopal issue under Archbishop Scrope, dated to 1405 only. During the entire reign of Henry IV, but particularly the Heavy Coinage, gold was in short supply (just £45,000 bullion for this 13 year period) but silver coinage was much more seriously impacted with only £1,750 of silver being available up to Michaelmus 1408, with nothing thereafter. Further, not only was hardly any Heavy Coinage silver issued, but what was issued was literally worth more than its face value and so ended up on the Continent where it was melted down. This imbalance straddled the very tail end of Edward III, continuing up to and including the first issue of Henry V, although the Henry IV period, particularly the Heavy Coinage, was the worst affected. Full flan, good weight, good detail, including reignal name. The coin has an uneven or wavy flan and is a field-find with much dirt still adhering to the coin. An unadulterated, honest coin. Sold with a two page Finds.org.uk report which provides a wealth of information as well as provenance. A choice example of a particularly difficult coin that, if you are lucky enough to source one, will invariably be in poor grade and problematic. £1,950

WMH-7566: Henry IV House of Lancaster Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Heavy Coinage, 1399 - 1412. 0.99g. York mint, Spink 1722. +hEnRIC x REX x AnGL x (---) this heavy coinage being over struck on old Richard II dies where the legend was RICARDVS REX ANGL or RICARD REX ANGLIE) and +CIVI TAS EBO RACI. An Episcopal issue under Archbishop Scrope, dated to 1405 only. During the entire reign of Henry IV, but particularly the Heavy Coinage, gold was in short supply (just £45,000 bullion for this 13 year period) but silver coinage was much more seriously impacted with only £1,750 of silver being available up to Michaelmus 1408, with nothing thereafter. Further, not only was hardly any Heavy Coinage silver issued, but what was issued was literally worth more than its face value and so ended up on the Continent where it was melted down. This imbalance straddled the very tail end of Edward III, continuing up to and including the first issue of Henry V, although the Henry IV period, particularly the Heavy Coinage, was the worst affected. Full flan, good weight, good detail, including reignal name. A most interesting obverse legend – a coin definitely worthy of someone’s skill and time in unravelling it all. A choice example of a particularly difficult coin that, if you are lucky enough to source one, will invariably be in poor grade and problematic. £1,950

Light Coinage (1412 – 1413)

Penny

London

WMH-7830: CHOICE Henry IV Hammered Silver House of Lancaster Penny. Light coinage, 1412-13 only. London mint, Spink 1732. +hENRIC REX AnGLIE / CIVI TAS LON DON. Annulet (ghosting of reverse long cross has distorted this) to left of crown, very faint pellet to right. Slipped trefoil on breast, same before LON on reverse. An extremely rare coin for any mint and particularly for London but frankly, whatever the mint, the elephant in the room is grade and weight. There was a severe shortage of bullion in England with prices on the Continent significantly more, thus silver coinage moved abroad by metaphorical osmosis. What little remaining coinage there was suffered extreme wear through circulation as well as at the hands of the clippers – a practise intensified during this period by the silver crisis. Ex Tim Owen with his ticket stating ex Reigate Hoard of 1972 with this coin being submitted too late to be included in the Spink sale. This hoard did contain some high grade, unmolested coinage from this period but this attribution is far from concrete – Marion Archibald’s 1978 BNJ paper on the Reigate Hoard stated than no pennies of Henry IV were present. I assume this coin was not part of that initial discovered cohort, rather a later associated find. I have been unable to locate a coin as good as this and certainly not with the full and generous flan this one has. Unambiguously choice and excessively rare, if not unique in this grade and weight. £3,795 RESERVED on Lay-Away (F.L.9-8-23)

WMH-7676: Henry IV House of Lancaster Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Light coinage of 1412-13, London mint, pellet and annulet by crown, Spink 1733. A very coin for any mint but particularly for London. Further, this is numismatically even more significant in that it’s a contemporary counterfeit: a copy made at the time, in this instance with remarkably good quality dies, but underweight thus allowing the counterfeiters to make nearly two pennies out of one penny’s worth of silver. Scale that up and it becomes an attractive proposition, until, perhaps, you realise that if you got caught doing this, you’d more than likely lose a hand – literally – as punishment. I have never seen a contemporary counterfeit Henry IV penny before. This has been in the possession of the renowned numismatic researcher Jon Mann for several years who had not seen another either. A great rarity. £845

Durham

WMH-7222: Henry IV Hammered Silver Penny. Light Coinage issue of 1412-13 only. [+hENR]ICVS RE[X ANGLIE] legend with excellent portrait showing the typical Henry IV bush hair as well as the clear trefoil on the breast with pellet terminals and a partial missing foot as the trefoil has slipped. Durham mint - [CIVI] TA[S] DVn OL[M]. 0.88 grams, 17mm. Lord Stewartby states that whilst production of gold throughout the reign of Richard II remained constant, silver was somewhat erratic and far from prolific – silver coins headed for the Continent in huge numbers as silver was worth more there than in the UK. Under Henry IV it was far more of an issue. Easter 1412 witnessed a numismatic landmark – the new “Light” coinage was introduced. Also in Easter of 1412, the value of silver bullion increased. Of the meagre coinage left, what you tend to see of Henry IV coinage (if you’re lucky enough to see any at all!) is coinage worn and clipped to within an inch of its life. Enough legend remains on this coin to make it unambiguously Henry IV, Durham. This is one of the best grade Henry IV pennies I have seen. I was following a Henry IV penny, in similar grade, in a recent London auction. Whilst the estimate was a come and get me (approximate) £400-£500, the hammer was more than the full asking price on this coin, and that was BEFORE the 25-30% buyer’s commission that auction houses currently charge. This coin is definitely one of the best examples of a Henry IV penny that I have ever offered for sale. A very rare coin, particularly so in this grade. £1,175

WMH-7222: Henry IV Hammered Silver Penny. Light Coinage issue of 1412-13 only. [+hENR]ICVS RE[X ANGLIE] legend with excellent portrait showing the typical Henry IV bush hair as well as the clear trefoil on the breast with pellet terminals and a partial missing foot as the trefoil has slipped. Durham mint - [CIVI] TA[S] DVn OL[M]. 0.88 grams, 17mm. Lord Stewartby states that whilst production of gold throughout the reign of Richard II remained constant, silver was somewhat erratic and far from prolific – silver coins headed for the Continent in huge numbers as silver was worth more there than in the UK. Under Henry IV it was far more of an issue. Easter 1412 witnessed a numismatic landmark – the new “Light” coinage was introduced. Also in Easter of 1412, the value of silver bullion increased. Of the meagre coinage left, what you tend to see of Henry IV coinage (if you’re lucky enough to see any at all!) is coinage worn and clipped to within an inch of its life. Enough legend remains on this coin to make it unambiguously Henry IV, Durham. This is one of the best grade Henry IV pennies I have seen. I was following a Henry IV penny, in similar grade, in a recent London auction. Whilst the estimate was a come and get me (approximate) £400-£500, the hammer was more than the full asking price on this coin, and that was BEFORE the 25-30% buyer’s commission that auction houses currently charge. This coin is definitely one of the best examples of a Henry IV penny that I have ever offered for sale, although clearly not as good as the London Henry IV penny, assuming it’s not sold. A very rare coin, particularly so in this grade. £1,175

York

WMH-7494: Henry IV Hammered Silver Long Cross Plantagenet Penny. Light Coinage, 1412 – 1413 only. Struck under Archbishop Bower at the York. “Light” coinage for a reason – the authorities were so short of silver that they simply issued new coinage using less silver, something Henry VIII was very much in favour of 130 years down the road. Although silver was in seriously short supply in England during the reign of Henry IV (and during Richard II & Henry V), in Easter of 1412 silver experienced a further dramatic increase in price. Old coinage in circulation (Henry IV heavy issues and older) was clipped to within an inch of its life by enterprising individuals who risked much in undertaking that lucrative practise but interestingly, although an order was issued to the public to hand in their old coinage for re-minting in November 1411, (they would be given the new coinage in exchange), hardly any was forthcoming because the new coinage was reduced in weight to the point where it was often the same weight as the clipped old coinage. This meant that getting old silver coinage into the melting pot in order to make new coinage (buying in silver bullion being the other avenue) also didn’t work, the end result being hardly any new coinage being issued. Henry IV Light Coinage is an extremely rare issue indeed. This coin: exceptionally clear annulet below bust, regnal name discernable, reverse quatrefoil. Spink 1734. Ex Baldwins – auction slip and coin envelope. £995 RESERVED (W.R.15-4-24)

Henry V (1413-22) Read about Henry V.

Hammered Silver

Groat

WMH-6916: Henry V (Battle of Agincourt fame) Hammered Silver Medieval Groat. 1413 – 1422, class C, Spink 1765. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, just before they defeated the French. London mint. £375

Penny

London

York

WMH-7269: Henry V Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Class F, York mint, Spink 1788. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, just before they defeated the French. Generally a poor issue with little effort put into the dies or indeed the end product. This coin is much above average for issue. £185

WMH-8004: Henry V Hammered Medieval Silver Penny. Initial mark Pierced Cross, York mint, mullet & trefoil by crown - Spink 1788. For a York mint coin, this is a remarkable, bordering on exceptional example. I have only ever had London mint coins as good as this before. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, just before they defeated the French. Centrally struck both sides, no clipping, strong detail throughout - the only possible minor negative is that the reverse cross is just about showing through on the obverse. Choice thus very rare. £545

Durham

WMH-7644: Henry V Medieval Hammered Silver Long Cross Penny. House of Lancaster, Durham mint, class G with a mullet and lis by the crown. Spink 1791. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, just before they defeated the French. An unusually good grade and pleasing example for any mint of Henry V penny, but particularly the northern mints with local dies in use. £225

Halfpenny

WMH-7546: Henry V Hammered Silver Long Cross Halfpenny. Class D, annulet and broken annulet by hair, London mint. Henry V of the Battle of Agincourt fame: I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires: But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. This is obviously Shakespeare's interpretation on Henry's St Crispin's Day speech but it's generally believed that Henry V gave a rousing speech to his men, who, remember, were vastly outnumbered, just before they defeated the French. Spink 1795. Toned. £70