Richard II, Henry IV & Henry V
Richard II (1377-99) Read
about Richard II
Groats
WMH-7530:
Richard II
Hammered Silver Medieval Groat. Group 1, London mint, initial
mark Cross Pattee, S.R.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-8111: Richard II Medieval
Hammered Silver Long Cross Penny. Early style,
class I, York
mint. Distinctive
cross on the king's breast; quatrefoil in reverse centre. S.R.1690. Richard II, as well
as Henry IV, are incredibly hard monarchs in terms of finding a good example of
a penny. Although worn, this coin has
the regnal name and the diagnostic cross-on-breast. £225
WMH-8136:
Richard II Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. A most interesting Non-Regal (contemporary counterfeit) of a London penny based upon
S.R.1686. Very clear regnal name and nearly as clear a
reverse mint signature. Of apparent good silver content (certainly rings like any other
decent quality contemporary penny) and a nice 1.01 grams weight. A particularly unflattering portrait, showing
Richard with something of a trunk for a nose (I'm not aware that the man
himself possessed such a proboscis in the flesh?!) It is not often - not often
at all - that we see such good grade contemporary counterfeits surviving through
to today. All in all, a good quality and
extremely interesting coin in excellent grade.
£335
Provenance:
Ex Mike
Vosper
Halfpennies
WMH-7279:
Richard II Medieval
Hammered Silver Half Penny. Class IIIa, 1377-99, London mint.
S.R.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. S.R.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. S.R.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
WMH-9177: Choice Richard II Medieval
Hammered Silver Halfpenny. Type III, 1377-99, London mint.
Late style, no marks to the breast and fishtail
lettering - S.R.1700. It is
recorded that the obverse dies used in the production of these halfpennies were
invariably rusted. An
exceptional, high grade example.
£295
Henry IV (1399-1413) Read
about Henry IV
Hammered Gold
WAu-9020: Henry IV Hammered Gold
Medieval Half Noble. Light Coinage
of 1412-13 only. This is a single issue,
S.R.1716. A contemporary imitation. Ex Patrick Finn (1999) where he describes
this as, “Very fine, unrecorded and very interesting since there are very few
known half nobles of Henry IV.” See here for the original
Patrick Finn write-up with his corresponding photograph here. The weight is here. The official Henry IV half nobles are as rare
as hens' teeth (we're talking the fingers on one hand) but this contemporary
imitation is thought to be unique.
Nothing can be rarer than this!
£2,895
Provenance
Ex Patrick Finn FPL 17, 1999
– Number 6 – £650 “Very fine, unrecorded and very interesting since there are
very few known half nobles of Henry IV.”
Hammered Silver
Heavy Coinage (1399 – 1412)
Penny
York
WMH-7423:
Henry IV
Hammered Silver Medieval Penny. Heavy
Coinage, 1399 - 1412. 0.95g. York mint, S.R.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, S.R.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)
Groat
WMH-8071: Henry IV and V Medieval House of Lancaster Hammered
Silver Groat. A
great rarity - Henry IV final class III obverse die (S.R.1728) muled with a Henry V initial class A London reverse die
(Spink 1759), resulting in a mule / hybrid (but most importantly, with the
Henry IV obverse), listed as Spink 1760.
A coin with a foot very much in two camps: clearly issued under Henry V,
right at the very start of the reign (note the lombardic n's
on the reverse) but with an actual obverse die used at the very end of the
Henry IV reign. 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,
especially groats which were extremely thin on the ground back than and like
hens' teeth today. As a Henry IV groat,
this is obviously exceptionally rare; as a Henry V groat ,
this is the very rarest of all the x11 different types, including the emaciated
bust variety. Provenance back to almost
x70 years ago with a rather impressive name in the coin collecting
community having had this very coin in his collection - P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton. £1,875
Provenance:
Ex P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton (November 1958)
Ex P.D.R. (Lot 84, 1995)
Ex Tim Owen
Penny
London
WMH-7676:
Henry IV House of
Lancaster Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.
Light coinage of 1412-13, London mint, pellet and annulet by
crown, S.R.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
Halfpenny
WMH-8070: Henry IV Medieval House of Lancaster Hammered Silver Halfpenny. Heavy coinage, 1399-1412, London, later large bust so towards the
latter part of that date range, S.R.1724 although more accurately described as
Withers type 3 with a distinctly recessed mouth. 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. If
you're after a jolly good portrait piece of the iconic Henry IV, look no
further! Outstanding. Ex Mike Vosper ticket. £795
WMH-9205: Henry
IV Medieval House of Lancaster Hammered
Silver Halfpenny. Heavy coinage, 1399-1412, London, the smaller
bust with inconsequential shoulders - touching the latter part of that date
range. Technically not listed in S.R. or North
because this coin transitions the Heavy and Light coinages, lying after the
Heavy S.R.1724 and before the Light S.R.1737 issues. Now more accurately
described as Withers type 4, a transition issue. The coin is remarkably full of flan, weighing
8.2 grains. Heavy issue halfpennies were
struck at 9 grains but in the x12 specimens observed by Withers, which was all
that was available in both institutional and private hands in 2023, those coins
started at 6.79 grains. Incidentally,
the Withers' plate coin, the best example extant, has a stronger portrait but
is clipped and weekly struck on the legends whereas the legends on this coin
are infinitely better, as is the fullness of the coin. Light issue coins were struck at 7.5
grains. 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. As good
an example of any Henry IV halfpenny as you'll see with both strong legends and
portrait. The rare transition element
further elevates the rarity of this coin.
Very rare and collectable. £865
Provenance:
ex Spink (sold 2023 £575 before the all important
reattribution)
Henry V (1413-22) Read
about Henry V.
Hammered Gold
WAu-9022: Henry V Medieval
Hammered Gold Full Noble. Series C with a broken annulet on the side of the ship. 1413-22. Initial mark Cross Pattée (4), S.R.1742.
Easter 1412, the very tail end of Henry IV, hailed a numismatic New Dawn
– due to fiscally challenging times, gold and silver coinage was officially
issued at a reduced weight. We’re all so
jaded with officialdom today that many might think this was no big deal but
although there had previously been “tinkering” of weights (Edward III nobles
down from 138 grains to 120 grains), this was the first official “Light
Coinage” episode where the coin in your hand was not quite worth the amount it
represented. A few Henrys on and just
over 100 years in the future, Henry VIII took this concept to a whole new
level. Some might even argue that
reducing silver content by half and then ultimately taking silver out of
coinage altogether in the early and mid 20th century was worse still. However, in 1412 in was the first time and it
was momentous. This decision made, it
would be an obvious move, you’d imagine, to increase
the output of gold from the mint, thereby benefiting the exchequer. However, there is no numismatic evidence
suggesting that this actually happened; the main reason being that bullion was
still very thin on the ground. Another
reason was the almost complete lack of skilled staff at every level in the mint
due to extreme inactivity during the preceding years. In September 1412, the warden at the mint was
ordered to recruit moneyers and die-sinkers.
This clearly impacted Henry IV coinage but it also affected early Henry
V coinage, especially gold, for the above reasons of lack of sufficient bullion
and a new workforce at the mint who would have needed a lot of time to get up
to speed. See here for
weight. This gold noble is a superb
example of this rarer monarch, being at least as good as both nobles Spink put
up as plate coins, with all the vast resources at their fingertips. £6,450
Hammered Silver
Groat
WMH-9211: A Jolly Good Henry V Medieval
Hammered Silver Groat. 1413 – 1422, initial
mark Pierced Cross, mullet on the right shoulder, class C, London mint. S.R.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. Ironically, Henry V died of fever at the very
young age of 35 in France.
An unusually high grade and thus very rare example of
this coin that is usually found in quite worn condition. In fairness, the dies were sunk too shallow
on the face, especially the nose, often leading to the appearance of
circulatory wear. Overall a good, solid
VF which is not an easy grade to find any Henry V silver coin in. £895
Provenance:
ex A Cooper-Cowl collection
WMH-9173: Henry V Hammered Silver Medieval
Groat in High Grade. 1413 – 1422, initial mark Pierced Cross, mullet on
the right shoulder, class C, London mint. Most unusually, in the reverse fourth
quarter, the legend MEVM has the EVM very clear in the second half of the
quarter and an E and a reversed R over the M in the first half. I have never seen this before. S.R.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. Ironically, Henry V died of fever at the very
young age of 35 in France.
An unusually high grade and thus very rare example of
this coin that is usually found in quite worn condition. In fairness, the dies were sunk too shallow
on the face, often leading to the appearance of circulatory wear. Note the detail on the fringe. Overall better than VF. £995
WMH-8071: Henry IV and V Medieval House of Lancaster Hammered
Silver Groat. A
great rarity - Henry IV final class III obverse die (S.R.1728) muled with a Henry V initial class A London reverse die
(Spink 1759), resulting in a mule / hybrid (but most importantly, with the
Henry IV obverse), listed as Spink 1760.
A coin with a foot very much in two camps: clearly issued under Henry V,
right at the very start of the reign (note the lombardic n's
on the reverse) but with an actual obverse die used at the very end of the
Henry IV reign. 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,
especially groats which were extremely thin on the ground back than and like
hens' teeth today. As a Henry IV groat,
this is obviously exceptionally rare; as a Henry V groat ,
this is the very rarest of all the x11 different types, including the emaciated
bust variety. Provenance back to almost
x70 years ago with a rather impressive name in the coin collecting
community having had this very coin in his collection - P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton. See Henry IV section above
Provenance:
Ex P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton (November 1958)
Ex P.D.R. (Lot 84, 1995)
Ex Tim Owen
Penny
London
WMH-8081:
Henry V Medieval Hammered
Silver Penny. Initial mark Cross Pattée, London mint, mullet & broken annulet by crown, class C, S.R.1778.
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,
minimal clipping, strong detail throughout - an outstanding example from a
fairly poor issue. £375
York
WMH-7269:
Henry V Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. Class F, York mint, S.R.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-8082:
Henry V Medieval Hammered
Silver Penny. Initial mark Cross Pattée, York mint, mullet & broken annulet by crown, class C, S.R.1778.
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. Ex Dr Martin Allen academic collection. £275
WMH-8083:
Henry V Medieval Hammered
Silver Penny. Initial mark Pierced Cross, York mint, mullet & trefoil by crown, class F, S.R.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. Centrally struck both sides,
some clipping, strong detail throughout - an outstanding portrait piece from a
fairly poor issue. £295
WMH-7644:
Henry V Medieval
Hammered Silver Long Cross Penny. House of Lancaster, York mint, class G with a mullet and lis by the crown. S.R.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
Durham
WMH-8164:
Henry V Medieval
Hammered Silver Penny. House of
Lancaster, Durham mint, class C with a mullet and
worn broken annulet by the crown. Most
importantly, the quatrefoil at the end of the legend is very clear. S.R.1782. 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. Much
above average grade for any mint of Henry V penny, but particularly the
northern mints - more so Durham - with local
dies in use. £395
Halfpenny
WMH-9003: Henry V Hammered Silver
Long Cross Halfpenny. Class F, initial
mark Pierced Cross, trefoil and 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. S.R.1796. A
really nice example of this popular monarch.
£195
WMH-9126: UNIQUE and CHOICE Henry V
Medieval Hammered Silver Halfpenny.
House of Lancaster, initial mark Pierced Cross, obverse: +hEnRIC'*REX*AnGL, broken annulets
by neck, reverse: CIVI TAS LOn DOn. London mint. At 0.58 grams in weight, this is a good 15%
heavier than it should be upon leaving the mint (0.49 grams). At 15mm diameter, this
halfpenny is virtually
penny sized in flan! Originally
catalogued as a Henry IV halfpenny (was the finest known example of any
type in the Dr Eric Harris collection of the 1960's and 1970's), this
has now been reclassified as an early Type 4 Henry V halfpenny. It is a completely unique coin, being the
actual plate coin
in the superb and ground-breaking Galata
Guide to Small Change by the formidable Withers' team (2023, Galata Press, ISBN 978-1-908715-22-7). There are no other examples extant. Completely unrecorded in
both Spink and North. As a
halfpenny, this coin is better than all other Henry V halfpennies illustrated
in that reference work. On grade alone,
this coin would be eagerly fought over at auction: the April 2nd 2025 Spink
auction witnessed a bog-standard Irish Henry III penny (lot 63), normally a
£250 coin in decent grade, sell for well in excess of £3,000 after
commission. It wasn't perfect but it was
high grade and attractively toned. In
today's market, grade is king. This
Henry V halfpenny has both rarity and grade going for it in abundance. Choice and unique. £1,895
Provenance:
ex Dr Eric Harris collection of the 1960's and 1970's
(no tickets as it was all on large index cards)
ex Chris Martin collection
WMH-9158 : Henry V Medieval Hammered
Silver Halfpenny. Broken annulets by
the crown, class C. London mint, S.R.1794.
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. Attractive
toning. £265
Provenance:
ex HistoryInCoins....sold 2015 (£250)
ex
Scottish collection
