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Sale 110
Lot 1973
Great Britain. Noble, Nd. S.1804; Fr-112. Henry VI, 1422-1461 (1470-1471). York mint. Obverse; King standing facing in ship, holding sword and shield, annulet and sword arm, lis over stern, denoting York mint. Reverse; Floriated cross with lis at ends, annulet in first spandrel. Mint mark lis. A remarkable mint state coin with superb color and original luster. Crisply struck with all lettering clear, well centered on a good size flan or planchet. Excellent miniature portrait of king. Gold coins of the small York mint, some 200 miles north of London, are considerably rarer than those of the regular London mint, and seldom seen in mint condition. This coin catalogues at around $7000 in lowly Very Fine grade, with no higher grades priced. Maybe the finest known example of a gold Noble from this branch mint. NGC graded MS-64. Estimate Value $14,000 - 16,000
*In this reign the mint mark lis was the symbol of the small York mint which was opened for a short time soon after the start of the king's reign, but closed a couple of years later. Marks (such as the lis) used to denote various issues became more prominent in this reign and can be used to date coins to within a year or two.
Henry VI became king at the tender age of nine months, and six weeks after inheriting the English throne the infant was declared king of France, with the death of his grandfather, Charles VI. His father, King Henry V, had died of dysentery at the end of August 1422, aged only 34 and young Henry inherited a raging war with France. Although Henry VI was officially king of France he never had much opportunity to rule it. In France, Charles VI's nineteen year old son was also declared king as Charles VII. He held most of the southern provinces while Henry's regent, his uncle John, duke of Bedford, governed the northern provinces for England.
The battle for France dragged on, but it lacked the relentless drive and cunning of Henry V, one of Britain's greatest soldiers. Bedford endeavored to consolidate the gains the English had made so that the benefits could be ploughed back to the crown and thus reduce the drain the war had on the English treasury. However this meant that any final victory was perpetually deferred as Bedford sought to consolidate the gains made by the English during the previous reign. Neither Bedford nor the weak-willed Charles VII had sufficient skill to conclude the battle. The French were gaining the upper hand, the English were losing all of the lands that Henry V had gained, and in 1435 the Duke of Burgundy, in whose name the English had first invaded France, reached an agreement with Charles VII known as the Treaty of Arras. From then on the English cause in France was lost.
Henry declared himself of age in November 1437, just before his sixteenth birthday, but he had neither the temperament nor the desire to be a monarch. In the next few years under Henry's weak stewardship tense rivalries between the 'houses' of Somerset and York erupted into the disastrous War of the Roses and the competing branches of the nobility fought to the death.
The start of the reign, when this coin was made, was the most stable period, and the supply of gold (for coinage) dwindled as the nation descended into chaos. Henry was eventually murdered, and apart from Edward II, there was probably no other British monarch less suited to be king.
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| Realized $16,200 |
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