Henry VI Noble leaf trefoil issue MS64+, only piece graded top of pop

Henry VI, first reign (1422-61),gold Noble of six shillings and eight pence, Tower Mint, leaf-trefoil issue (c.1436-38), King standing in ship with upright sword and quartered shield, leaf and trefoil stops in legend both sides, h EnRIC! DI! GRA! REX:. AnGL xZx FRAnC! DnS! hyB', rev. h at centre, ornate cross with floriate lis terminals, crown over lion in angles, all within beaded and linear tressure of eight arcs, large fleurs in spandrels, initial mark fleur de lis, +IhC! AVT! TRAnCIEnS! PER:. mEDIVm:. ILLORV! IBAT!, weight 6.98g (Schneider 332; N.1482/1; S.1830). Fully round though a little double struck on obverse, graded by NGC as MS64+, of the highest rarity.

NGC Certification 2124432-033 - top of population finest graded sole example of type and variety.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Henry by the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland"; and on the reverse "But Jesus, passing through the midst of them, went His way" taken from the Bible.

The "leaf-trefoil" issue of gold and silver denominations is so-named on account of the use of these symbols in the stops of the legend upon these coins both sides. From the latest estimation based on contemporary and hoard evidence, this issue was minted for perhaps eighteen months or more from some time in 1436 until some time in 1438, from which surviving accounts show certainly less than 1,200lb weight of gold was coined at less than £20,000 worth, certainly very small when compared to the vast "annulet issue" coinage of 1422-30.

Provenance:

Ex Bridgewater House Collection, Sotheby, 15^th June 1972, lot 13.

Ex Spink Coin Auction 90, 16^th March 1992, lot 10.