BRITISH, Lancaster. Henry VI, first reign, 1422-1461. Noble d'Or (Gold, 33 mm, 6.90 g, 11 h), Annulet issue. Tower (London) mint, 1422-1427. h-ЄnRIC(lis)DI'*GRA'*RЄX*ANGL'*S*FRANC*'DNS'*hYb' Crowned Henry VI standing facing on ship, holding sword in his right hand and shield with coat of arms in his left. Rev. (lis)IhC*AVT'◦'TRAnSIЄnS◦PЄR◦MЄDIVM◦ILLORV'◦IBAT Ornate cross with lis terminals, lions passant guardant within angles and beneath crowns, within tressure of eight arches; letter h at center. Friedberg 112. North 1414. Schneider -. SCBC 1799. Rare in this condition. Highly attractive and struck on a full round flan. In NGC encapsulation, graded MS 62. A tiny flan crack, otherwise, good extremely fine.



Henry VI, the last king of the House of Lancaster, was unable to match the military successes of his predecessors. Under his rule, English power in France began to crumble. Already during the early phase of his reign - when this exceptionally well-preserved noble was struck - England suffered its final defeat in the Hundred Years’ War, followed in 1455 by the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster on English soil.

As England’s position in the Hundred Years’ War deteriorated, the flow of gold to the mints in London and Calais had already begun to dwindle in the 1420s. Consequently, gold nobles and, more broadly, the gold coinage of Henry VI are correspondingly rare.