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Auction: 26022 - The Hambleden Hoard: The Most Important Trove of Black Death Coins Ever Found
Lot: 1545

Henry VIII (1509-1547), Third Coinage, Half-Sovereign, September 1545 - January 1547, Type IIb, in 20ct Gold, Southwark (Suffolk House, London), (m.m.) hEnRIC '. 8 [. D .'] G.' AGL ' | FRAnCIE .' Z . hIB : REX . lombardic lettering, King enthroned, with Henrician features, holding orb and sceptre, Tudor Rose below, rev. (m.m.) IhS . AVTE '. TRAnSIEnS PERmEDI .' ILLORV .' IBAT, lombardic lettering, crowned shield with Lion and Griffin Royal supporters, Gothic E below shield, HR in cartouche in exergue, [Spink XRF: 0.830 Fine AV], 6.22g [96.00grns], 7h (BM 2023 T695, no. 1 this coin; Bisham Abbey 1953; Schneider I, - [cf. 621 - Roman H] [Tower II]; Carrington 629 same dies; North 1828; Spink 2297), small flan fissure at 12 o'clock with resulting striking softness to peripheries as typical for issue, otherwise bright and residually lustrous, strictly very fine on account of modest doubling to reverse, nevertheless with wonderful intricate detailing to throne that brings the iconic 'Holbeinesque' portrait into sharper relief, scarce thus

Provenance
Found by Mr P Astley at Cheddleton (Staffordshire), Saturday 29 April 2023


~ Recorded with National Museums Liverpool (ref. PAS: LVPL-797522) ~



As C E Challis noted for the BNJ (1964, pp. 135-140), The Southwark Mint opened in June 1545 in Suffolk House (later Southwark Place) to aid the King's surreptitious debasement programme and hydropsical thirst for money. Sited just over a mile from the main Tower Mint, staff were largely drawn from Mint Street, including under-treasurer Sir John Yorke and comptroller Robert Broke. Initially, the Earl of Suffolk's former residence was only authorised to strike silver (6 oz. fine) specie, but their purview was soon extended to emit gold in September 1545 as the Crown's financial crisis deepened.



Over the following years standards were progressively debased - silver reduced to as low as 3 oz. fine by early 1551. Despite being less well-documented than other mints, Southwark was second only to the Tower in output. It produced over 222,890 lbs of silver coin, nearly 47,830 lbs from Teston conversions, and nearly 13,000 lbs of gold coin during its six years of operation. Production ceased in July 1551, when currency reform made mass-production mints redundant. Staff returned to the Tower by October 1551.


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Estimate
£4,000 to £6,000

Starting price
£4000