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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,196 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
Hi! I'm trying to research a battered longcross that recently entered my possession. Its main identifying feature is an annulet on either side of the King's neck. Now, judging by what little is left of the inscription, it's definitely not an Edward. Do the annulets mean that it's going to be a Henry VI, for he's the only monarch I've found who has annulets. Also, I don't think it's a London mint. The mintmark is a cross.
Will post a picture tonight, infant's needs permitting!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
I believe that pins it down as the "annulet issue" of Henry VI, specifically from the Calais mint, from 1422-27, but will wait for the pics!
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
62 Posts |
Cheers, it is looking like that. I await further details post-photo-uploading!
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Now, those are some big hoop earrings! So big, this makes me think this is a halfpenny ( or is this big enough for a penny?) We can clearly see VIL in the 1st quarter and CAL in the third on the reverse, for VIL LA CAL IS (Calais mint), so that fits for the annulet issue. Almost looks like IS is followed by another annulet; is that a known variety?
Edited by philadelphian
02/22/2013 5:32 pm
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
Can't answer the other questions, but it's about 12mm in diameter, so falls into both farthing and ha'penny categories!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Here's a resource of everything you could want on the halfpennies and farthings of Henry VI, other than pictures: http://www.britnumsoc.org/publicati...BNJ_74_7.pdfThis article describes three different cross styles for the Calais annulet issue halfpennies. Your cross might fit the description of a cross pommée, which would be consistent with a farthing, though 12 mm would be a bit big. Edited by philadelphian
02/23/2013 1:22 pm
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
Thanks for the link, chap. I'm presuming it must then be a halfpenny as it's 12mm despite it clearly having been clipped.
Another odd thing is that the reverse appears to read "VIL LA CALI IS" which doesn't seem to be listed on that page...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
It is tough to see what's going on in that lower left quadrant, but I believe that's just CAL in the lower right. The L's tend to have a very tall end serif, and with the clipping, it looks like a fourth letter.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
A bit more googling had eventually revealed some of these examples, yes. But thank you for pointing out another. I'm happy that the third quadrant is "CAL", but the fourth quadrant begins with an 'I' and ends in an 'S'. Other Calais coins tend to end with "ISxx" where the x's are above each other. Similar to a double saltire stop, really. But mine has a space between the I and S with potentially another character. Definitely not seen an example of this anywhere...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Yeah, I'm confused about that quarter as well. There seems to be some evidence of an apostrophe in the middle, but even if it doesn't end in S, it really doesn't seem to be ending with a double saltire, which seems to be the only option. The answer must be out there, somewhere...
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
I've asked on another forum, but no-one seems to have seen a copy before...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
The more I look. The more I am convinced that the S follows the I in the middle of the lower right corner. The first short vertical mark after the I is the lower serif of the S; you can follow the curve around from there. The top of the upper loop of the S is clipped off; you can see the wedge-shaped apostrophe coming in below the upper serif. Annulet issue obverses are often muled with the reverses of other issues. This one has annulets in two quarters; need to find one, like the rosette-mascle issue, where something other than a double saltire follows IS.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
62 Posts |
A bit more cleaning has proved your theory, yes. It does go "IS_". Thanks for that! As for what comes next...well, it looks like a trefoil if nothing else. Will try and get a photo, but I really don't think it's a saltire.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,196 |
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Posted 02/22/2013 09:20 am
