Lot 276
Great Britain. Noble, ND. S-1521; N-1281. 7.78 grams. Edward III, 1327-1377. Calais mint. Fourth Coinage, Post-Treaty (1369-1377). King stands facing in ship, bearing sword and shield. Reverse: Royal cross in tressure, E and pellet at center, quatrefoil over sail; flag at stern, for Calais. Cross 3, "pattee" mintmark. The King of France and Duke of Aquaitaine titles were used together only for the post-treaty coinage. A splendid specimen, crisp in strike with only trivial obverse die rust, highly lustrous and essentially flawless. Choice centering. One of the finest Nobles extant! NGC graded MS-65.
The coastal port of Calais is about 20 miles east along the shores from a northern promontory of the French coast. Enjoying to this day a broad sandy beach extending for miles, and a sunny vista, it is an area of long human habitation, with evidence indicating its occupation since at least prehistoric times. Long known for its position of being the closest land point on the continent to the coast of Britain, it served as Julius Caesar's staging point for his invasion of Celtic Britain. Under Edward III, war with France began over the king's claims to the country's disputed throne. In this initial phase of the Hundred Years War, Edward landed in Normandy in July 1346, accompanied by his son Edward, the Black Prince (so called for the color of his armor, which is preserved today in Canterbury Cathedral). His decisive victory at Crécy in August (thanks to his advantage with the English longbow over Italian crossbowmen) scattered the French army. He then captured Calais, turning it into a base for future campaigns before agreeing to a truce in 1347. Subsequent and continued victories over the French resulted in the Treaty of Bretigni, in 1360, which ceded huge areas of northern and western France to English sovereignty, along with Calais remaining in English hands. The city was expanded into a cross-channel trading base, along with the opening of a mint there in 1363 for the striking of English gold and silver coins. Calais would remain as an asset and property of England for the next two centuries, only finally being wrested from her hands in 1558, during the reign of Mary Tudor, by the Duc Francois de Guise.
Estimated Value $5,000 - 6,000.
Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection (by private treaty to the Millennia Collection). Illustrated in Money of The World, coin 74.
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| Realized $13,225 |
