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Auction: 23051 - English Milled and Hammered Coins and Artefacts
Lot: 1091

House of Tudor (5): including: Henry VII (1485-1509) (2), Regular Profile Issue, Groat, c. 1505-1509, Tower, crowned and draped bust right, rev. square-topped shield over long cross fourchée, 2.72g, 6h, m.m. pheon (North 1747; Spink 2258), light tone and residual lustre, fine to almost very fine and with an interesting Hoard pedigree; also, Halfgroat, Canterbury, Class 3c, crowned bust facing, rev. CIVITAS CANTOR, long cross, trio of pellets at angles, 1.19g, 2h, m.m. tun (Spink 2211), irregular flan, with surface porosity, fine to very fine; additionally, Henry VIII (1509-1547) (3), Second Coinage, Groats (2), 1526-1544, Tower, crowned bust right, rev. POSVI DEV ADIVTORE MEV, saltire stops, square-topped shield over long cross fourchée, saltires in forks, 2.56g, 5h, m.m. lys (Stewartby p. 471; Laker D; North 1797; Spink 2337E), waterworn, fine or marginally better; another, 1526-1529, York, Archbishop Thomas Wolsey, as last, rev. square-topped shield over long cross fourchée, cardinal's hat below, T-W beside, saltires in forks, 3.68g, 3h, m.m. acorn (Stewartby 473/1; Whitton iii; North 1799; Spink 2339), slightly crimped, otherwise full and round, struck details fine or marginally better; lastly, First Coinage, Halfgroat, 1514-1526, York, Archbishop Wolsey, crowned and draped bust of Henry VII right, rev. as before, with Cardinal's hat and keys below shield, 1.13g, 2h, m.m. escallop (North 1171; Spink 2326), lightly toned, good fine; an interesting academic assemblage, some with the Cranworth (1996) hoard pedigree (5)

Provenance

i) Baldwin 17, 5-6 May 1998, lot 295 [part] - £220

Cranworth (1996) Hoard, deposited, c.1545 - one of only four groats of Henry VII recovered, three of the Regular Profile Issue

iv) Baldwin 17, 5-6 May 1998, lot 356 - ....the third buckled... [part] - £200
Cranworth (1996) Hoard, deposited, c.1545



In the prescript to the sale, Michael Sharp of Messrs A H Baldwin penned the following: "Found in the garden of a very old Norfolk farmhouse in 1996, this hoard comprised 290 Groats and an Halfgroat. Four of the Groats were of Henry VII, and the others of Henry VIII, six from the first coinage, 263 and the Halfgroat from the second and the remaining seventeen from the Third coinage. The latest of these bore the second bust which prompts the conclusion that the hoard was deposited early in the period of debasement, its owner preferring to keep good silver for the future rather than exchange it for inferior currency. The hoard, of the face value £4-16s-10d, was found in a contemporary Rhineland pot of a style attributed to Raeren which has been acquired by The Castle Museum, Norwich. A tiny fragment of cloth was also found and a larger piece adheres to one of the coins. It would therefore seem that some, if not all of the coins were in a (long since rotted) bag within the pot. The quality of the coins offered is generally fine to very fine although some are damaged or have deposits of verdigris. Twenty-two of the Groats of Henry VIII have been acquired by The British Museum, one from the first coinage, four from the second and all seventeen from the Third coinage. One of the Twenty-two is scratched with the figure "60", possibly significant since Sixty groats equalled one pound."

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Sold for
£650

Starting price
£350