Henry VI Silver Penny Rosette Mascle - York Local
Henry VI Silver Penny
Rosette Mascle Issue
York - Local dies
Mullet and Lis by crown
0.87g 16.9mm
Spink - 1868var (Previously 1791)
North - 1451iiivar (Previously 1404)
Obverse:
[HE]NRICV[S RE]X ANGLIE. Crowned facing bust, mullet to left and lis to right of crown.
Reverse:
CI[VI]TAS EBORACI. Long cross pattée dividing the legend, with three pellets in each angle, quatrefoil in centre. Rosette and mascle stops.
Very fine, light tone and extremely rare.
This coin illustrated in the reference collection for D. I. Greenhalgh (2024) 'The Galata Guide to Medieval Pennies, Part II: Reference Collection: Henry IV - VI, 1399-1461, 1470-71' Galata. Page 53.
This obverse would have been previously catalogued as Henry V, class G. The keen observations of both Lee Stone and David Greenhalgh, with this particular die paring help affirm Lord Stewartby's suspicion that the mullet and lis coins fit within the production period of Henry VI.
"The Mullet and Lis issue of pennies should be relocated from Henry V to Henry VI. They would appear to have been issued in 1430 on the re-opening of the Ecclesiastical mint. This would place them either at the start of the Rosette Mascle issue or possibly, given the single annulet placed in one quarter of the reverse, included in the Annulet Trefoil Sub issue, which also have a single annulet in one quarter, which is currently known only for Calais, but given the extreme rarity of the London pennies of the Rosette Mascle issues, may also have been struck for London but none have been identified to date."¹
A coin from the same die pair as this coin as was studied by Greenhalgh in its own blog post, an addendum to the above, noting that "The coin is from the York Local die Mullet and Lis obverse and is muled with a Rosette Mascle York reverse. Prior to this the only other mule recorded was with a Rosette Mascle obverse and a Mullet and Lis reverse (British Museum)....This coin adds further weight to the re-assigning of the Mullet and Lis coins to the 1430 period."²
¹ D. Greenhalgh 'A Henry V or VI York Penny Conundrum' British Numismatic Society Research Blog, 23 Aug 2023. https://britnumsoc.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/394-greenhalgh-henry-56-final.pdf
² D. Greenhalgh 'A Henry V or VI York Penny Conundrum - Addendum' British Numismatic Society Research Blog, 26 Sep 2023. https://britnumsoc.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/406-henry-56-addendum.pdf
L. Stone, 'An Example of a Henry VI Annulet Issue York Penny from the Ecclesiastical Mint?' British Numismatic Society Research Blog, 28 Feb 2023 - Addendum. https://britnumsoc.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/336-henry-vi-annulet-issue-york.pdf
Data sheet
- Metal
- Silver
Specific References