Great Britain (1640-41) angel Fr-245
This specimen was lot 1302 in CNG sale Triton XXVII (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $4,900. The catalog description[1] noted, "Great Britain, STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. AV Angel. Fine gold coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: star. Struck 1640-1641. Archangel Michael slaying the Dragon; X to left / Three-masted ship sailing left; royal coat-of-arms on mainsail; hull ornamented with lis and lions passant. In NGC encapsulation 2119532-039, graded AU Details, holed. Pierced for use as a touch piece. Very rare with this mintmark. Ex Dr. Baumhauer Collection." When the gold angel was introduced during the Wars of the Roses, it was worth one-third of a pound or six shillings eight pence. It was minted fairly steadily thru Elizabethan times. During the reign of James I, it was raised to ten shillings. By then it had become more of a religious talisman than a coin and most of the angels of James known today are holed. Charles I issued a few before the Civil War, as shown here, and ended the series.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5 g, 0.995 fine gold, this specimen 26 mm diameter, 4.07 g, 3 h axis.
Catalog reference: KM 149, Fr-245, Schneider, Tower dies 0-24/R-23; Brooker 14 (same dies); Schneider 111 (same dies); North 2145; SCBC 2684A.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- [1]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXVII, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2023.
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