England (1526-29) 1/2 crown Fr-165
The first specimen was lot 20061 in Ponterio sale 176 (Chicago, August 2013), where it sold for $4,406. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Henry VIII, 1509-1547. Half Crown, ND (1526-29). Rose. Crowned Tudor rose flanked by small initials ‘H’ and ‘K’ (Henry and Katherine of Aragon). Rv. Crowned shield, but without initials. A charming fractional type in strong grade. Lustrous with virtually complete legends all around. Very Fine Plus. Ex: Spink, 1983." The second specimen was lot 54 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 2,600 CHF (about US$3,156 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted, "Grossbritannien | Königreich. Henry VIII. 1509-1547. Gold 1/2 crown n. d. (1526-1544), Tower Mint. Second coinage. Mintmark rose. hK uncrowned on obverse. NGC AU58. Knickspur. (Bent.)" Angels and half angels continued to be struck into the reign of Henry VIII but were raised in value in 1526, the half angel going from three shillings sixpence to three shilling nine pence. The gold crown (five shillings) and half crown (two shillings sixpence) were introduced but were found to be more practical when struck in silver.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, 30 grains (1.94 g); the first specimen 27.7 grains, the second specimen 1.79 g.
Catalog reference: S-2285; North-1794; Fr-165.
- 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.
- [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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
Link to:
- England (1507-09) angel
- England (1513-26) 1/2 angel Fr-156
- (1526-29) penny, Durham mint
- (1526-32)-WA penny, Canterbury mint
- (1526-44) penny, London mint
- (1526-32) halfgroat, Canterbury mint
- England (1526-44) groat = 4 pence
- England (1526-33) crown Fr-163
- England (1526-33) crown Fr-164
- (1526-44) half angel, lis mintmark
- England (1526-44) angel Fr-158 = 7 shillings 6 pence
- (1529-32) gold half crown, lis mintmark
- England (1541-42) sovereign Fr-157
- Coins and currency dated 1526
- return to coins of Great Britain