England (1529-32) 1/2 crown Fr-164

Sincona sale 79, lot 1060

This specimen was lot 1060 in Sincona sale 79 (Zürich, October 2022), where it sold for 4,000 CHF (about US$4,794 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, Henry VIII. 1509-1547. Gold 1/2 crown n. d. (1529-1532), Tower Mint. Second coinage. Mintmark lis. Crowned h-K by rose, crowned h-K by shield. Rare. NGC AU58." The gold crown had a face value of five shillings. The initials, shown here as "H-K" for Henry and Katherine, changed as Henry ran thru his six wives. 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: 30 grains or 1.93 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen is 1.83 g.

Catalog reference: Spink 2286, Schneider coll. 604, Fr-164.

Source:

• 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.

Link to:

• (1526-29) penny, Durham mint
• (1526-32)-WA penny, Canterbury mint
• (1526-44) penny, London mint
• (1526-32) halfgroat, Canterbury mint
• (1526-44) groat
• (1526-29) gold half crown, rose mintmark
• (1526-33) gold crown of the rose, rose mintmark
• (1526-33) gold crown of the double rose, lis mintmark
• (1526-44) half angel, lis mintmark
• (1526-44) angel, lis mintmark = 7 shillings 6 pence
• (1536-37) gold crown of the double rose, arrow mintmark
• Coins and currency dated 1529