England (1536-37) crown Fr-164
This specimen was lot 1061 in Sincona sale 80 (Zürich, October 2022), where it sold for 2,400 CHF (about US$2,877 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, Henry VIII. 1509-1547. Crown of the double rose n. d. (1536-1537), Tower Mint. Second coinage. Mintmark arrow. Crowned h-I by rose, crowned h-R by shield. Rare. NGC AU Details. Minor rim filing." The gold crown had a face value of five shillings. The initials, originally "H-K" for Henry and Katherine, changed as Henry ran thru his six wives. The "H-I" shown here probably stand for Henry and Jane Seymour. The largest silver coin of the reign was the testoon, which was equal to a shilling. Spink comments, "Gold, which fell to 23 c[arat] in 1544, 22 c. in 1545, and 20 c. in 1546, was much less debased than silver...."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 60 grains or 3.86 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen is 3.68 g.
Catalog reference: Spink 2276, Schneider coll. 594, Fr-164.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 79, British Collection, Part 3, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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