Lot 283
Great Britain. Angel, ND. S-2187; N-1698. 5.19 grams. Henry VII, 1485-1509. York mint. Saint Michael spears Satan at his feet. Reverse: Ship bearing shield. Pheon mintmark. Crisply struck, a fresh coin with abundant mint luster, made on a full flan and remarkably showing a fantastically detailed face on the saint, slight wrinkle in the flan. Later style angel with an armour-clad Saint Michael. NGC graded MS-63.
Henry was a descendant, from the wrong side of the bedsheets, of the inimitable John of Gaunt. Although a Lancastrian, when Henry gained the throne he was from the onset determined to bring order to England after 85 years of civil war. He thus married Elizabeth of York, and so combined in the Tudor line the factions of both Lancaster and York. Further discord as to succession was now ended.
Henry's experiences with English nobility during the War of the Roses led him to mistrust them. So he worked diligently to strengthen the monarchy at their expense. Henry likewise displayed acumen in foreign affairs. The most far reaching, incidently, was to secure Papal dispensation for his son, Henry (the future Henry VIII), to marry Catherine of Aragon (whose divorce would provide a home for Protestantism, founding the new Church of England). In commerce, Henry encouraged trade, and subsidized shipbuilding, along with entering into lucrative trade agreements. Both crown and country profited under his stewardship. He moved England away from the Middle Ages, where feudal obligation was primary, to a more modern country of law and trade.
Estimated Value $3,000 - 4,000.
Found about 20 years ago in the roots of a tree in a forest in England; Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection (by private treaty to the Millennia Collection). Illustrated in Money of The World, coin 85.
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| Realized $5,750 |
