England (1483) angel Fr-141
This specimen was lot 20044 in Ponterio sale 176 (Chicago, August 2013), where it sold for $28,200. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Edward V, 1483. Angel, ND (1483). Boars Head (over Half Sun & Rose)/Half Sun & Rose. Exceedingly Rare and Key Edward V Angel Seldom Encountered. St. Michael, with feathered wings, spearing dragon. Titles EDWARD DI GRA. Rv. Ship with shield at center; ‘E’ and rose flank thick cross-like mast. Exceedingly rare and a key coin in the Law collection. Very few examples are known and they are present in only the most advanced cabinets or in museum collections. Proper die state for Edward V issuance and a full match to the British Museum coin plated in Brooke, plate XXXIV: 2. Dies also match the Schneider example first published in 1956 (Schneider 482). This lovely Norweb sale coin has been off the market since 1985 and was obviously an important acquisition for Mr. Law. An attractive coin, sharp and clear for the technical grade. Excellent details overall. This may be the only example encountered for some time. Fine. Ex: Spink 1985 Norweb Collection-English Coins Part I, Lot 216 (at £11,200 hammer); bought at Spink, 1965; C. Dabney Thompson Collection; also Tresor d’Herenthals. Norweb envelope and two old tags included." Lobel[2] notes that in the 1460's the price of gold rose to where nobles were being exported from England to the Continent. To forestall this, in 1464 the king raised the value of the noble to eight shillings four pence and introduced a new coin, the rose noble, tariffed at ten shillings. It was superseded in 1470 by the gold angel, worth six shillings and eight pence. This issue is traditionally attributed to the short reign of Edward V but may have been struck in the last years of Edward IV.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, 80 grains; this specimen 77.8 grains.
Catalog reference: S-2444A; North-1670; Fr-141.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, and Bruce Roland Hagen, Ponterio sale 176: The Thos. H. Law Collection of English Gold Coins, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers, LLC, 2013.
- [2]Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
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