COINAGE OF THE RESTORATION, 3 OCT. 1470 TO 14 APR. 1471.
In the interval between 1461 and 1470, while Edward IV was on the throne, two changes
had been made in the weight and value of the nobles, and a new coin, called from its
device an angel, had been introduced. At the restoration these alterations were adopted,
and an indenture was made on the 7th of March, 1470-71, with Sir Richard Tonstall,
master of the mint, in the same terms as those of the fifth year of Edward IV. According
to this the nobles were now to weigh 120 grains each, as they had done before the
reduction of their weight in 1412, but they were to be current, not for 6s 8d as before,
but for 10s. The angel was to be current for 6s 8d, and was to weigh 80 grains. Half and
quarter nobles were also authorized, and angelets, or half angels.
No nobles or half nobles of this coinage have yet been discovered.
ANGELS. These have for type, obv. the Archangel Michael, with a glory round his head,
and expanded wings, trampling with his left foot on the dragon, and piercing him through
the mouth with a spear, the other end of which ends in a cross-crosslet which marks the
termination of the legend. Rev, upon a ship, with two ropes to the mast from the stern,
one from the prow, and concealing part of the side of the ship, is a shield bearing the
arms of France and England quarterly, surmounted by a large broad cross, which
conceals the lower part of the mast, at the top of which is the topcastle, and, above that, a
cross crosslet; h to left of cross, lis to right. This type is the same as that which had been
introduced by Edward IV, except that h and a lis are substituted in the field of the reverse
for E and a rose; and the topcastle and cross-crosslet take the place which on Edward IV’s earliest angels is occupied by the rays of
the sun, his own peculiar badge. The angels of Henry VII are distinguished from those of
Henry VI by having h and a rose in the field, and also by their mint-marks. The Rs in the
legends of Henry VI’s angels often look more like Bs. The legend
is an abbreviation of Per crucem tuam salva nos Christe redemptor.
1. HENRICVS DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANCIE.
Small trefoil before Henricus and after every word. Rev.
PER CRVSE TVA SALVA NOS XPC REDET. MM
pierced cross at beginning of legend, two small trefoils after Per, one after Nos. MB. 2
Legends as the last bat FRANC, REDE’TOR. Trefoil between words on both sides, MM
on both sides, at end of legend, pierced cross. MB. 3. Legends as the last but CRVCSE.
Trefoil between words on both sides except after Per, and one before Henricus and
between E and T in Rede’tor. MM pierced cross at end of obverse legend. MB. 4.
HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC. Trefoil before Henric and after every word.
Rev, as 2. MB. 5. Same as the last, but no trefoil after Di, nor after Per, Tua, or Salva;
MM plain cross at beginning of legend on rev. Rud. n. 14. 6. Obv. as 4. Rev. PER
CRVSE TVA SALVA NS XPC REDEMTOR. MM plain cross at beginning of legend,
trefoil after Cruse and Ns. MB.
BRISTOL. 7. Legends as 1 but DEI, FRANC. Small trefoil before Henricus and after
every word on obv. except Rex, two after Franc. Rev. MM pierced cross before legend,
two dots after Per, trefoil after Nos, trefoil at each side of shield, B, for Bristol, under the
ship. (32) MB. 8. Obv. as last but legend HENRICV DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC
DNS. Rev. PER CRVCE TVA SALVA NOS XPC REDETOR. No MM, trefoil after
Cruce, Tua, Nos, and Rede, nothing at sides of shield, B under the ship. EVANS. The
mint at Bristol, which had been disused for
a long time, was re-established by Edward IV about the year 1465. See post, p. 68. Very
rare.
ANGELET. Type as the angels. HERIC DEI GRA REX ANGL Z FR. Trefoil between
words except after Dei. Rev. 0 CRVX AVE SPES VNICA. Trefoil each side of the X in
crux, and after ave, two after unica, three between the V and N in unica. MM lis at end of
legend.
(33) Rud. iii. 16. MB. Ext. rare.
QUARTER NOBLE. We assign to this coinage the following quarter noble, because it
has for MM a crown, a MM which is found upon no other coin, gold or silver, of any of
the Henries, but which occurs on several coins, both of gold and silver, of Edward IV
struck after his fourth year, and probably about the time of Henry’s short restoration. It
also differs from the other quarter nobles of Henry VI by having a pellet instead of a lis in
the centre of the reverse, and by having the French title in the obverse legend, which title
also appears on several of the quarter nobles of Edward IV. Except in the particulars
mentioned its type is the same as that of the previous quarter nobles of Henry VI, and
different from those of Edward IV, but the reason of this is obvious. Henry, upon his
restoration, adopted the devices upon Edward’s angels, in which there was nothing
peculiarly appropriate to the Yorkist as distinguished from the Lancastrian faction; but
the device which Edward had placed upon the reverse of his nobles and half and quarter
nobles consisted of his own badge, the rose and sun united. It was impossible, therefore,
for Henry to adopt this; and if nobles were to be coined at all, as by the indenture with
Sir R. Tonstall they were directed to be, it was necessary to recur to the old type; and the
following coin proves that this was actually done. Obv. HENRIC x DI x GRA x REX x
ANGL x Z x FRA
No MM. Rev. : EXALTABITVR : IN : GLORIA : MM crown. Pellet in centre of cross. (34)
MB. Weight 25 grs. The proper weight of a quarter noble at this time
was 30 grains. Before the fifth year of Edward IV, the proper weight was 27 grs., but this
coin seems to have lost decidedly more than 2 grains by wear. Ext. rare.
Henry VI, like his predecessors, used no mint but those of London and Calais for his
coins of the English type, except during his short restoration, when a few coins were, as
we have seen, struck at Bristol. Some of his earlier coins are common, but those of the
restoration are very rare. At Capt. Murchison’s sale, in 1864, a Bristol angel was sold for
£10, and the angelet for £30. 10s.
| TABULAR VIEW. |
|
Noble. |
½Noble. |
¼Noble. |
| 1ST COINAGE, with annulets. |
|
|
|
| MM pierced cross, mullet and annulets in legends, lis above shield |
|
|
+ |
| 2ND COINAGE, with rosettes. |
|
|
|
| MM plain cross, rosettes in obv. legend, flag at stern |
Rud. |
|
|
| MM lis, rosettes in legends, lis at king's wrist and in 2nd quarter of rev., mascle after Per; flag at stern. |
+ |
|
|
| MM lis, rosettes in legends, lis at king's wrist and in 2nd quarter of rev., mascle after Per; no flag at stern. The mascle, and the lis in 2nd quarter, are also omitted on the ½ noble |
+ |
Rud. |
|
| MM lis, rosettes in legends and at each side of shield, lis above shield |
|
|
+ |
| 3RD COINAGE, with pine cones. |
|
|
|
| MM lis, lis at king's wrist and in 3rd quarter of rev., rosettes and mascle in obv. legend, pine cones and mascle in rev, legend |
Num. Chr. |
|
|
| MM lis, lis at king's wrist and in 2nd quarter of rev., rosettes in obv. legend, pine cones and mascle in rev. legend |
Evans |
|
|
| MM lis, lis in 2nd quarter, pine cones and mascles in legends |
Evans |
|
|
| MM lis, cone, lis, and annulet under shield on obv., pellets and annulets in obv. legend |
Evans |
|
|
| 4TH COINAGE, with trefoils. |
|
|
|
| MM lis, trefoils in obv. legend, trefoil and annulets in rev, legend, annulet at wrist and in one spandril on rev. |
+ |
|
|
| MM lis, same but mullet instead of trefoil in rev, legend, trefoil in 2nd quarter. |
Thorburn |
|
|
| MM lis, lis and trefoils in obv. legend, mullet and annulets in rev, legend. (The nobles and half nobles have also an annulet at the king's wrist and in one spandril on rev., and the ¼ nobles have a lis above the shield) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
| MM lis, same as last, with flag at stern of ship |
+ |
Rud. |
|
| MM lis, same as last but one, with trefoil below shield on obv. |
|
|
+ |
| MM lis, same as last but two, with lis over stern of ship on nobles and ½ nobles, and with lis at each side of shield, and annulet after Di, on ¼ nobles |
+ |
+ |
+ |
| CALAIS, with C in centre of reverse. |
|
|
|
| MM lis, lis and trefoils in obv. legend, mullet and annulets in rev, legend, annulet at king's wrist and in one spandril on rev., flag at stern |
+ |
+ |
|
| COINAGE OF THE RESTORATION |
Angel. |
½Angel. |
¼Noble. |
| MM pierced cross, trefoils in legends |
+ |
|
|
| MM plain cross, trefoils in legends |
+ |
|
|
| MM lis, trefoils in legends |
|
+ |
|
| MM crown, pellet in centre of cross on rev. |
|
|
+ |
| BRISTOL, B under ship. |
|
|
|
| MM pierced cross, trefoils in legends and at each side of shield |
+ |
|
|
| No MM, trefoils in legends |
Evans |
|
|
Henry VI (1422-1461) |
Table of Contents |
Edward IV (1461-1483)
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