Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 8012 - Ancient, English & Foreign Coins & Commemorative Medals
Lot: 647

Henry III, long cross coinage, 1247-1272, Penny, 1.47g, Class 1a/b, London, bust facing wearing crown with caul, within wire line inner circle, crescent and star above, henricvs:rex, rev. lie terci lon (cf. N.983/984; S.1358/1359), dark tone, details all very clear, a rare mule and extremely rare variant of the 1a obverse, good very fine Estimate £ 300-400 The detail of the crown and the wire line, as opposed to beaded, inner circle on the obverse of this coin is most unusual. The class is clearly 1a, but the exceptional style found here suggests this was struck from an early die when the design was still very new and almost experimental. As such this coin shows that the authorities deliberately sought to adopt standards and styles in the design for the new long cross coinage that would make a break with the debased design of the later short cross coinage. This new example of the 1a obverse is an important addition to the overall long cross coinage corpus and is extremely rare. The Brussels Hoard contained five examples of this issue in 60,000 coins.

Sold for
£1,150