August 1, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



173 



to the cross pattee, i.e., broadening towards the ends. 

 (Fig. 4: EDW R ANGL DNS HYB, (V.-., Dominus Hybernije; 

 reverse, civiTAS dvreme. On this coin the mint-mark, a 

 small cross moline at the beginning of the legend, is 

 noticeable as being the sign used by Bishop Beck, who 

 filled the see of Durham from 1283 to 1810.) Edward I. 

 and Edward II. limited their actual coinage to the silver 

 penny and its half and quarter ; but the third king of this 

 name made a far-reaching change by the introfiuction of a 

 splendid series of gold coins, as well as by striking four- 

 penny and twopenry pieces (groats and half-groats) in silver. 

 In 1353 Edward struck gold florins worth sis shillings, 

 ■with half-florins and quarter-florins. These, however, 

 being valued too high in terms of silver, failed, and were 

 withdrawn. The " noble," of six shillings and eight pence 

 (the origin of our lawyer's fee), issued in 1341, was a 

 greater success, though, perhaps, a less beautiful coin. 

 Fig. 8 represents the florin, of which only two specimens 

 are known ; the king is seated, facing, a leopard on each 

 side of the throne, fleurde-lys strewn over the field. On 

 the reverse is the motto : mc ('•''•, Jesus) transiens 

 PER MEOIVM iLLORVM IBAT. The legend (Luke iv. 30i 

 ■was supposed to be a charm against thieves, and thus 

 appropriate to the coinage. The half-florin and quarter- 

 florin bore heraldic types (a leopard bearing a banner with 

 the arms of France and England, and a lion standing on a 

 "cap of maintenance," the field strewn with lys). The 

 noble is represented by Fig. 9. Here the kin^ is shown in 

 a ship, with sword and shield bearing the royal arms. 

 The reverse, hke that of the florin, is purely decorative, 

 and bears the same motto (wiih or without the addition of 

 AVTEM after the first word). The origin of the obverse 

 type is uncertain, the only plausible suggestion being that 

 it has reference to the naval victory of Sluys, won by the 

 English four years before these coins were issued. Tlie 

 half-noble was similar in type to the noble, but the quarter 

 bore the shield of arms alone ; the half with the motto, 



D0M1NE NE IN FVRORE TVO ARGVAS ME, the quarter 

 with EXALTABITUR IN GLORIA 



In 1851 the penny was fixed at eighteen grains, and greats 

 and half-groats were issued. The groat bore two circles 

 of inscription on the reverse, the outer containing the 

 motto, POSVi DEVM ADIVTOREM MEVM, the inner the mint 

 name (in the case of Fig. 5, civitas LONDON). Before 

 the Treaty of Bretigny, in 13G0, Edward calls himself 

 King of France on his coins ; from 18G0 to 1309 he is 

 Lord of Aquitaine (DNS HYB & AQT. Lord of Ireland and 

 Aquitaine, on Fig. 5) ; after 13G9, when the treaty was 

 broken, he again claims the title of King of France. The 

 half-groats are very similar to the groats, and the pennies 

 are still of the type introduced by Edward I. The 

 coinage which was thus established by Edward III. 

 remained materially unaltered for more than a century, 

 and his gold coinage was so fine that it was largely 

 exported abroad. Under the impression that the wealth 

 of a country was measured by the amount of gold it pos- 

 sessed, the English legislated time after time against the 

 exportation of gold coin, but to no effect. Not only were 

 the coins themselves exported, but imitations of all kinds 

 were made on the Continent, varying only m legend or in 

 some small heraldic detail. The next change of importance 

 in the English coinage was due to Edward IV. In 1405 

 this king issued a new noble worth ten shillings, and a new 

 coin worth six shillings and eight pence to fill the place of the 

 old noble, which had risen in value. These nobles (which 

 were also called "roy:.ls'' or " ryals ") dilfer from the old 

 coins in having arose on the side of the ship, and n rose on a 

 sun in the centre of the reverse ; a banner with E also flies 

 from the poop of the vessel (Fig. 12). The half-noble is 



similar, but the quarter bears on the obverse the shield 

 alone, with E, a rose, a sun, and a lys around it. The 

 rose on these coins is, of course, the white rose of Edward's 

 family, while the sun is explained by the story that before 

 the battle of Mortimer's Cross, in 14G0, Edward's victory 

 was portended to him by the appearance in the heavens 

 of three suns (mock suns?). The angel, or angel-noble, 

 was so called from the type of the obverse, which was the 

 archangel Michael subduing Satan (Fig. 7). Oj the 

 reverse was a ship, carrying a cross between E and a rose, 

 and on its side a shield. The motto was a lame hexa- 



meter: PER CRVCEM TVAM SALVA NOS XPE (i.e., GHRISTE) 



REDEMPTOR. The angelet, or half-angel, is similar in 

 type to the angel itself. As in the case of Edward III.'s 

 coins, a great number of the coins of Edward IV , 

 especially the ryals, circulated and were imitated abroad ; 

 specimens exist with the countermark of foreign States, 

 such as Dantzic, upon them. 



The accession of the Tudors may be said to mark the 

 beginning of a new era in the English coinage. The 

 execution of the pieces is in every way worthy of the 

 young Renaissance, and the coinage from Henry VII. to 

 Elizabeth has never been surpassed in England for decora- 

 tive beauty and magnificence. Henry VII. introduced the 

 sovereign, so called from the representation of the full- 

 length figure of the king (Fig. 16). On the reverse were 

 the royal arms in the centre of the Tudor rose. This fine 

 piece, which weighed two hundred and forty grains (onr 

 present sovereign weighs one hundred and twenty-three and 

 a quarter grains i, was worth twenty shillings of the time, 

 or two ryals. Henry also issued a ryal from which the 

 rose was absent on the obverse, while the reverse is fully 

 occupied by the Tudor rose with a shield bearing three lys 

 in its centre. In silver, Henry VII. introduced an impor- 

 tant coin, the shilling, weighing one hundred and forty-four 

 grains, and equivalent to twelve pennies. On these pieces 

 (Fig. 10) the number (viior septim) is once more added to 

 the king's name, and the bust appears in profile, being no 

 longer a merely conventional representation but a real por- 

 trait. While most of the pennies are of the usual kind, it is 

 interesting to note the recurrence on some of them of the 

 sovereign type. The coinage continued to improve under 

 Henry VIII. , and coin was stOl exported from England in 

 large quantities, since gold was rated at a higher value 

 abroad than in this country. To prevent this it was pro- 

 claimed in November, 1526, that the sovereign should be 

 current at twenty-two shillings and six pence, the angel- 

 noble at seven shillings and six pence, and the other 

 denominations proportionately. New coins were also issued, 

 the most interesting being that which was known from its 

 type (the George and Dragon) as the George noble (Fig. 14). 

 We have also at this time the new gold denominations of the 

 crown, of five shillings, and its half, and the quarter-angel. 

 The silver coinage offers several points of interest. One 

 of the counts in the indictment against Wolsey was that 

 "of his pompous and presumptuous mind he hath enter- 

 prised to join and imprint the cardinal's hat under your 

 arms m your coin of groats, made at \our city of York, 

 which like deed hath not yet been seen to have been done 

 by any subject within your realm before this time." It 

 should be borne in mind that it had long been the custom 

 for bishops to place their mark on pennies issued by their 

 authority (compare No. 4) ; but it would seem that \Volsey 

 had ventured to place his mark and initials on the larger 

 coins issued, at 'York, by the king's and not by his own 

 authority. Several groats and half-groats exist with t w 

 to right and left of the shield of arms, and the cardinal's 

 hat beneath it. From the time of Henry Nil I. the shield 

 in some form or other is present on almost all English 



