Ancient Gold Coins
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Scottish & English Hammered and Milled Gold Coins:
WAu-7553:
Henry IV
Hammered Medieval Gold Noble. Light
Coinage of 1412 – 1413 only, London mint, Spink 1715. Easter 1412 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.
Bear in mind that Henry IV, who was very much a slave to ill health at
this point anyway, died 20th March 1413 so we’re talking six months to basically
start coin production from scratch and in an environment where bullion was in
extremely short supply. Coincraft
states, “Collectors will have great difficulty in obtaining one (Henry IV
noble)”. Small edge metal loss at 3 o’clock, brought about by a contemporary
planchet fault. Exceedingly rare. Ex Spink with their old ticket. £5,795 RESERVED (S.H.18-10-22 Lay-Away)
WAu-7555:
Edward IV
Hammered Medieval Gold Ryal or Rose Noble.
Light Coinage of 1464 – 1470 only, London mint, small fleurs in spandrels,
initial mark Crown, Spink 1951. This
coin, issued in 1465, whilst unambiguously attractive in design, was a bit of a
disaster. It superseded the old Noble
because this was now considered a clunky and old fashioned denomination at 6s.
8d. The new Ryal or Rose Noble
denomination was nice and user-friendly at 10 shillings. However, it wasn’t. The noble had been around for so long that
6s. 8d. had actually become the professionals’ standard fee. Whilst these professionals wouldn’t have
minded being the beneficiary of a not inconsequential pay rise virtually
overnight, the people who employed these individuals were most certainly not up
for that. Thus the new 10 shilling Ryal
or Rose Noble denomination was itself superseded just 5 years later by the gold
Angel and everyone was happy because the Angel circulated at, wait for it,
exactly the same as the old Noble - 6s. 8d, or at least it did until Henry VIII
got involved when, somewhat counter-intuitively, it increased to 7s. 6d in his
Second Coinage! At virtually full weight
and VF grade, this is a lovely example of an iconic English late Medieval
hammered gold coin. £6,850
WAu-7663:
Edward IV
Medieval Hammered Gold Ryal or Rose-Noble.
First reign, light coinage, 1464-70.
The excessively rare Coventry mint – this mint was only operational for x72 days
right at the start of the Light Coinage, which would account for the fact that
I have never seen another in the flesh, ever, and have only seen one other for
sale – see here. Spink 1955.
Such a rare coin! P.O.A. RESERVED (M.A.D.
Lay-Away)
WAu-7311:
Henry VIII
Hammered Gold Crown of the Double Rose.
Third coinage, initial mark none / WS monogram, 1544-47, Bristol mint. Spink 2310.
Ex Spink (various
tickets here). Slightly wavy flan
with minor edge splits. A very popular
coin and invariably a minimum of £5K in today’s market. This one priced very competitively at £4,295
WAu-7617:
James 1st
Hammered Gold Thistle Crown. Second
coinage, rarer initial mark overdate: obverse initial mark Cinquefoil (1613-15)
over Trefoil (1613); reverse initial mark Cinquefoil (1613-15). 2.01g, 12h.
Spink 2628. Purchased from
Patrick Finn’s list # 14 (1998) and remaining in that collection until November
2022 – see tickets. Very nice grade and excellent
provenance. £1,095 RESERVED (M.A.D.
Lay-Away)
WAu-7665:
Scottish James
VI Hammered Gold Unit or Sceptre Piece.
Tenth coinage, 1609-25.
Circulated at £12 in Scotland and £1 sterling. Spink 5464.
Old auction slip here. Very high.
Choice. £5,850
WAu-7640:
1651
Commonwealth Hammered Gold Unite.
From the famous St. Albans Collection of English Gold Coins where this
coin, as were all coins in the collection, it was slabbed by NGC as AU58. • THE
COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND • English shield within palm and
laurel wreath of fifteen leaves, rev. • 1651 • GOD • WITH • VS, conjoined
shields of England and Ireland, • XX • above. Other images here and here. 8.97g, initial mark sun [obverse only]. Schneider II, 339; Tisbury -; EGC 10; North
2715; Spink 3208. Traces of doubling in
obverse legend, otherwise handsomely toned with enchanting reddish flare
overlying lustrous original fields, die wear to high points, good very fine,
the scarcer obverse variety as identified by Bull and with a famous
pedigree. Sold with NGC 'St Albans' Certification and graded AU58
(NGC #6295553-012)
Provenance:
1. Spink: The "St Albans" Collection of English Gold
Coins, December 2022, lot 12, hammer just under £14,000 after commissions.
2. 'A Distinguished Collection', purchased en
bloc via Spink, August 2018
3. Spink 211, 13
December 2011,
lot 108 - "a neat round coin, lustrous, attractive, over a reddish tone,
good very fine" - £8,000 (before commissions)
4. Samuel King, Spink 173, 5
May 2005,
lot 81 - "a neat round coin, with attractive golden lustre over a reddish
tone, good very fine" - £4,200 (before commissions)
5. SNC, July-August 1971, no. 7516* - well
struck, choice, extremely fine - £250 (before commissions)
A stunning
coin in both grade – being as good as full weight – and general
appearance. Those that know me will
understand that I’m all about the coinage and the history behind it as opposed
to investments, but I have to say that this coin, whilst clearly being very
much the former, is also an excellent investment piece. P.O.A. RESERVED (M.A.D. Lay-Away)
WAu-7191:
James II Gold
Touch-Piece: Guaranteed to have been personally touched by King James II. An ancient practice – that of The Devine (the
monarchy was seen very much as a physical, tangible extension of God) healing
sufferers of Scrofula (Tuberculosis) – dating as far back as Henry II. All subsequent monarchs took some part in the
ceremony (William & Mary refused because William was not of English royal
decent) although Henry VIII was the most reluctant. Interestingly, although somewhat disinclined
due to an unwillingness to mingle with the common man, it was Henry who
initiated the design of St George and the dragon on subsequent Touching
Ceremony gold coins. Although James’s
brother, King Charles II, was an enthusiastic believer in the divine right of
kings, James was actually more prolific in his touching, the number of sick
being brought to him being as much as 14,364 in one year. Clearly James II had an extremely short-lived
reign, and it must be noted that for the first months of touching, he actually
used the left over Charles II gold pieces – some 1,905 of them. Again, the new touch-pieces were the work of
John Roettier. It is estimated that 1%
of the London population suffered during this time), so James was never
short of participants. Interestingly,
his ultimately toxic religious views seemed to have mattered very little to the
average man in the street who was suffering from this extremely unpleasant
disease – if James II could cure him, bring it on! James II personally attended these ceremonies
and physically handed the touch-piece to each and every sufferer. Sufferers were invited and issued with an
official Ticket-Pass to admit them to the ceremony. You gave your Ticket-Pass in at the door,
entered the ceremony, got touched by the king, received your gold coin from the
king himself and hopefully left as a cured individual. The Ticket-Token were collected and re-issued
for the next Touching Ceremony. James II
touched no less than 12,000 a year during his short reign. Touching Ceremonies were scheduled weekly,
although never when the weather was warm.
Under Charles II, in 1684 the size of the gold touch-pieces were reduced
and this was maintained under James. The
value of these pieces was some 5 shillings so very few would have survived the
temptation of being spent as currency and thus quickly melted down upon
numerous currency recalls, not least upon the death of monarchs. Very rare indeed; more so due to the
shortness of King James’s reign. £1,850