Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3030 5-6 January 2014
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Great Britain
Edward III (1327-77) gold Noble ND, S-1502, North-1231, Treaty Period (1363-69), Duke of Aquitaine title, Cross Potent, struck 1363-69 at London, saltire before king's name, MS63 PCGS, a beautiful example of this type, booming with luster, fairly sharp in strike but slightly off center on obverse (shifting part of the legend off flan), the king's small face clear but not crisp, the large "E" at center of reverse the only feature of this side that is not sharp, reverse legend full and a joy to read, the flan sound without cracks or abuse -- overall, a choice Noble, and very scarce in this condition. (Mis-attributed on the PCGS grading insert as S-1490, which would be Pre-Treaty with French title.)The earliest gold of this reign is today extremely rare. It largely copied the styles of the 13th-century issues of Genoa and Florence and was intended to compete with that money in trade. Gold specie was in fact rare at that time, but this situation changed almost at exactly the same moment as Edward III gained his throne. In 1320, large deposits of gold were discovered in the Hungarian mountains, and the European powers eagerly bought it as it came out of the mines at Kremnica. It was a boom not dissimilar to the great gold discoveries in California centuries later, and it transformed society, giving it new wealth and permitting trade to flourish. The English used it to produce gold coins in quantity for the first time in their history, the Florin or Leopard, first minted during the first half of 1344. Previously, silver had been continuously withdrawn and became scarce as holders of money retreated from taxes demanded by the king to fight the Hundred Years War starting in 1337. The king was forced to borrow from European sources. His splendidly designed first gold coins, featuring the royal leopard on some and the king upon the coronation throne on others, quickly disappeared for the same reason his silver coins had been withdrawn from use by the public. In a cruel twist of history, the English king both borrowed gold from the French king and fought him, demanding a ransom for the release of John the Good, captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1359, of £500,000! This vast sum was paid in installments to the English king in the form of French golden francs à cheval. These were recoined into English gold. Several treaties between the two kingdoms were entered into, the most important one for numismatists being the Treaty of Bretigni, signed at Calais in October 1360. The Noble series in particular is distinguished by the bold appearance on these coins of Edward III's various claims to sovereignty. His earliest gold Nobles are seldom encountered, but the flood of money that came into the kingdom from the ransom -- and used in its day to promote the wool trade with Flanders -- has given collectors ample opportunities to obtain coins from this historic period. On the presently offered coin, King Edward proclaims himself to be King of England, and Duke of both Ireland and Aquitaine, in a legend surrounding himself at the helm of the ship of state on the coin's obverse. It is thought that the design of the king aboard his warship was intended to commemorate his naval victory at Sluys in 1340. By the end of the reign, the title in Latin of King of France was added to the royal titles. It was retained on English coins for some 250 years but originated in this reign on coins such as this.
Estimate: 7500-8500 USD
Edward III (1327-77) gold Noble ND, S-1502, North-1231, Treaty Period (1363-69), Duke of Aquitaine title, Cross Potent, struck 1363-69 at London, saltire before king's name, MS63 PCGS, a beautiful example of this type, booming with luster, fairly sharp in strike but slightly off center on obverse (shifting part of the legend off flan), the king's small face clear but not crisp, the large "E" at center of reverse the only feature of this side that is not sharp, reverse legend full and a joy to read, the flan sound without cracks or abuse -- overall, a choice Noble, and very scarce in this condition. (Mis-attributed on the PCGS grading insert as S-1490, which would be Pre-Treaty with French title.)The earliest gold of this reign is today extremely rare. It largely copied the styles of the 13th-century issues of Genoa and Florence and was intended to compete with that money in trade. Gold specie was in fact rare at that time, but this situation changed almost at exactly the same moment as Edward III gained his throne. In 1320, large deposits of gold were discovered in the Hungarian mountains, and the European powers eagerly bought it as it came out of the mines at Kremnica. It was a boom not dissimilar to the great gold discoveries in California centuries later, and it transformed society, giving it new wealth and permitting trade to flourish. The English used it to produce gold coins in quantity for the first time in their history, the Florin or Leopard, first minted during the first half of 1344. Previously, silver had been continuously withdrawn and became scarce as holders of money retreated from taxes demanded by the king to fight the Hundred Years War starting in 1337. The king was forced to borrow from European sources. His splendidly designed first gold coins, featuring the royal leopard on some and the king upon the coronation throne on others, quickly disappeared for the same reason his silver coins had been withdrawn from use by the public. In a cruel twist of history, the English king both borrowed gold from the French king and fought him, demanding a ransom for the release of John the Good, captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1359, of £500,000! This vast sum was paid in installments to the English king in the form of French golden francs à cheval. These were recoined into English gold. Several treaties between the two kingdoms were entered into, the most important one for numismatists being the Treaty of Bretigni, signed at Calais in October 1360. The Noble series in particular is distinguished by the bold appearance on these coins of Edward III's various claims to sovereignty. His earliest gold Nobles are seldom encountered, but the flood of money that came into the kingdom from the ransom -- and used in its day to promote the wool trade with Flanders -- has given collectors ample opportunities to obtain coins from this historic period. On the presently offered coin, King Edward proclaims himself to be King of England, and Duke of both Ireland and Aquitaine, in a legend surrounding himself at the helm of the ship of state on the coin's obverse. It is thought that the design of the king aboard his warship was intended to commemorate his naval victory at Sluys in 1340. By the end of the reign, the title in Latin of King of France was added to the royal titles. It was retained on English coins for some 250 years but originated in this reign on coins such as this.
Estimate: 7500-8500 USD