Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 40 21 Nov 2019
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British Coins, Henry VII (1485-1509), profile issue, testoon, mm. lis, crowned portrait r., rev. royal shield over cross fourchée dividing legend (S.2251; N.1740), fair, much wear indicating years of circulation, obverse centre very faint, unclipped flan, no damage, light two-tone grey patina, exceedingly rare and seldom offered for sale
*ex Lingford, purchased from AH Balwin and Sons August 1947
Purchased from Seaby in the 1950s for £12.10.0.
This late-reign issue of Henry Tudor represents a breakaway from the long tradition of portraying the monarch facing the viewer, and it was not until the reign of Elizabeth I that a monarch's facing direction was reversed. North suggests that the dies for this coinage, which he states provided a 'fine portrait profile', were cut by Alexander of Brugsal's deputy, John Sharp. While the king's portrait is not visible on this specimen, another quality of this coin is its unclipped flan; Challis states that Henry VII sought to rid the circulating money of clipped coins (statute 19 Henry VII of 1504), and set up an exchange centre at Leadenhall in London for banks and the public to turn clipped coins in for new ones, notifying the public that any clipped coins found circulating after 2 February 1506 were subject to confiscation. The rarity of this coin might be partially explained by the fact that, from 1505 to 1509, £88,000 in silver was shipped to Italian merchants. Few of those coins ever returned to the homeland.
(2000-4000)
*ex Lingford, purchased from AH Balwin and Sons August 1947
Purchased from Seaby in the 1950s for £12.10.0.
This late-reign issue of Henry Tudor represents a breakaway from the long tradition of portraying the monarch facing the viewer, and it was not until the reign of Elizabeth I that a monarch's facing direction was reversed. North suggests that the dies for this coinage, which he states provided a 'fine portrait profile', were cut by Alexander of Brugsal's deputy, John Sharp. While the king's portrait is not visible on this specimen, another quality of this coin is its unclipped flan; Challis states that Henry VII sought to rid the circulating money of clipped coins (statute 19 Henry VII of 1504), and set up an exchange centre at Leadenhall in London for banks and the public to turn clipped coins in for new ones, notifying the public that any clipped coins found circulating after 2 February 1506 were subject to confiscation. The rarity of this coin might be partially explained by the fact that, from 1505 to 1509, £88,000 in silver was shipped to Italian merchants. Few of those coins ever returned to the homeland.
(2000-4000)