MEDAL. 
versed his father’s example, as his coin, 
with the side face, is bad, and the full face 
good. The base coin of tins king is the first 
which is dated ; the silver coin was restored 
to the original standard in 1552 ; and Since 
1601, 18 pennyweights of alloy has been 
used in the pound weight. 
Henry III. introduced the coinage of 
gold : his attempt appears, however, to have 
been unsuccessful, as only two specimens 
have readied our time, and are called the 
gold penny ; they are larger than that of 
silver, and tolerably executed : it is to 
Edward III. therefore we are indebted for 
the establishment of the system still pre- 
vailing, which the last named prince com- 
menced in 1344 with the florens, then 
worth six shillings, but now greatly increas- 
ed in value, and thus called from Florence, 
where the best gold was coined at that 
period. Half and quarter florens were 
made at the same time, though none of the 
former have descended to us. The floren 
being found inconvenient, from the value 
not according with a distinct division of 
larger ideal denominations of money, the 
noble of 6s. 8d. was adopted, which con- 
sisted of half the mark: this term was 
founded on the superiority of the metal 
used in making it, and was attended by 
other coins of half and quarter nobles; both 
sides of this money had a circle within it 
resembling the outline of an open rose, and 
was thence called the rose noble by medal- 
lists. The angels issued by Edward IV. 
impressed with the figure of the archangel 
Michael, were of the same value of the 
noble, and divided in the same way, as they 
were intended to supersede the former: 
the increase in the value of gold caused 
several changes in the weight of the noble ; 
in 1465 the angel, worth 6s. Sd. weighed 
80 grains, to whieh it had fallen from 120 
grains, the weight of the original noble of 
6s. 8d. The ryal, of the value of 10s. and 
the angel, with its divisions, were the only 
English gold coins till 1485 ; but Henry VH. 
ordered the coinage of a double ryal, value 
20s. and the double sovereign of 40s. 
Henry VIII. added the gold crown and 
half crown, of 5s. and 2s. 6d. ; and issued 
sovereigns of 22s. 6d. ; ryals of 11s. 3d. ; 
angels of 7s. 6d. ; and nobles of 6s. 8d. : 
this monarch, after raising the value of silver 
to the proportion of 1 to 5 of gold, issued 
sovereigns of 20s. 
Previous to the reign of Edward VI. the 
figures of our kings were represented on 
tlieir gold coin at full and three quarters 
length, but the young king introduced him- 
self in a bust: in his reign silver, which had 
been as 1 to 4, was reduced to the ancient 
proportion of 1 to 11. James I. gave the 
sovereign the name of unite, in honour of 
the union of England and Scotland in his 
person, which were then 20s. ; and he made 
rose ryals of 30s.; and spur ryals 11. 15s.; 
angels of 10s. ; angelets of 5s. : and in the 
ninth year of his reign gold was raised in 
the proportion of one shilling. 
We shall now turn out attention to some 
other unquestionable authorities for the fur- 
ther illustration of this interesting subject. 
James, aware of the variety of causes which 
operated to injure and annihilate the circu- 
lating medium, as such, issued a proclama- 
tion in 1619, prohibiting the exchange of 
monies for profit, the making of plate of 
any of his majesty’s coins, and the excessive 
use of gold and silver foliate. Charles I. 
devoted much of his attention, in the early 
part of his reign, to the state of the coin- 
age, and published several commissions for 
regulating of it, amongst which was one for 
stamping all bullion ‘of gold and silver 
brought into the kingdom, and another for 
reforming abuses and frauds committed in 
the silver coin. This explains the previous 
manner of proceeding, and asserts that the 
exchange of all kinds of gold and silver fit 
for the mint, one of the kings prerogatives, 
had been entrusted to the goldsmiths, who 
had abused this indulgence, and by presum- 
ing to sort and weigh every de-scription of 
money, daily selecting the heaviest for melt- 
ing, or for sale to persons who exported it 
immediately, thus materially diminishing 
the quantity of current coin, and rendering 
those who brought silver to the mint certain 
losers. The proclamation alluded to ap- 
pointed Henry, Earl of Holland, snperin- 
tendant of the changes, exchanges, and out- 
changes, in the British dominions ; and pro- 
hibited the exportation of gold or silver, 
either coined or otherwise, and tlie melting 
of the coin, besides providing for the refor- 
mation of the abuses committed by gold- 
smiths, who upon the sale of their wares 
were to demand for value or rate separately, 
and the fashion and workmanship separate- 
ly ; and were commanded at the same time 
to give a memorandum to the purchaser, 
describing the day of sale, the weight, the 
value of the metal, and the charge for 
fashion, &c. by which means the buyer, on 
selling the same again, might know what to 
demand for it at the king’s exchange or 
mint. 
