Another historical figure Edward IV

I just bought this groat of Edward IV from the Berk Bid or Buy after sale. I love the grumpy portrait. I bought it for that as well as the fact that Edward IV was the brother of Richard III. So I have added yet another historical figure to my collection.

Below is an excerpt from wikipedia on Edward IV.


"Edward IV of England was a king of England. He was born on April 28, 1442. He was King of England from March 4, 1461 until his death on April 9, 1483.

Edward was the eldest of the four sons of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. The Duke of York was a very powerful man, and had a claim to the throne of England. He became more popular than the existing king, Henry VI of England, who was thought to be weak. When the duke tried to take the throne from Henry VI, the Wars of the Roses broke out. By the time Edward was eighteen, he and his brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, who was seventeen, were old enough to take part in the fighting, and Edward turned out to be a very good soldier. He was helped by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, a clever nobleman who fought for the Duke of York. At the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Edward's father, and his brother Edmund, were both killed. As his father's heir, he now claimed the throne. In March 1461, he entered London with his army and was crowned king, although he was only nineteen. King Henry VI was put into prison.

For a while, Edward ruled the country well, with help from the Earl of Warwick. Then Edward met a woman called Elizabeth Woodville, whom he wanted to marry. The Earl of Warwick did not know about their romance, and he wanted King Edward to marry a foreign princess in order to make an alliance with another country, which would have made his position stronger. Elizabeth and Edward got married secretly in about 1464, and they had ten children in the nineteen years of their marriage.

When the Earl of Warwick learned of Edward's marriage, he was angry. He grew even more angry as time went on, because Elizabeth's family became powerful and the king no longer respected Warwick as he had done in the beginning. In 1459 he rebelled against the king, with help from another of Edward's younger brothers, George, Duke of Clarence; George was married to the Earl of Warwick's elder daughter, Isabel. The rebels went to France and made an alliance with Queen Margaret, who was the wife of King Henry VI. The Earl of Warwick managed to defeat King Edward in battle in 1471, and freed King Henry VI from prison. Henry was now king again, and Edward had to escape to Burgundy, while his wife and children went into hiding.

The Duke of Burgundy was married to Edward's sister Margaret, so he was willing to help raise more troops. When Edward returned to England, he defeated the Earl of Warwick in battle and killed him. Shortly afterwards, Queen Margaret and her son arrived in England. They were also defeated in battle by King Edward, and his throne was safe. To make sure of this, Edward arranged for King Henry VI to be killed.

While Edward was away in Burgundy, his wife Elizabeth had given birth to a son, Edward, who was given the title of Prince of Wales. He would be the next king. Edward ruled with help from his two brothers. George, who had once rebelled against him, was now loyal, and the youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had always been loyal. There were still quarrels between them and the powerful Woodville family. George and Richard also quarrelled with each other, and in the end King Edward had to put George in prison, where he died.

Edward IV died very suddenly at the age of forty. His son became King Edward V of England, but his reign did not last long. Edward's brother, Richard, thought that it would not be a good idea for a boy to be king, and he took the throne himself. No one really knows what happened to Edward's two sons, the Princes in the Tower."

Please post your hammered coins.


Great Britain, House Of York, ND, Groat, F; Great Britain, House Of York, ND Groat, F, Edward IV, First Reign, 1461-70. Light coinage. London mint. 25.2mm, 2.9g. No marks by neck. S-2002. Nice grumpy portrait. Dark toning.

 

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Great coin, love the history behind that groat! The only English hammered coin I own is a denier of Eleanor of Aquiltaine, wife of Henry II (mother of Richard and John).


Eleanor of Aquiltaine, 1137-1152
AR Denier .84 gm - 17 mm
Obv: Two crosses with A Ω. Rev: Cross

 

@ancientcoinguru

I love that coin. I have been looking for an Eleanor for months but they do not appear very often on the market.

Wonderful coin!

 

I was very lucky. I was at the FUN coin show, and arrived at a dealer booth just as he was completing his purchase of the coin. I owned it a few minutes later!

 

Super detail on that groat, and the dark toning accentuates the devices. The portrait is indeed grumpy - was that the style of the time, or is the OP coin unusual?

 

I checked Acsearch. Of their examples none have the grumpy portrait. I have seen it on other hammered British coins however.

 

NICE @Orfew ! You are HAMMERING those Famous Historical Figures! Great capture.

No Eddie 4's here, but I do have a few hammered... LET'S GET HAMMERED !!!


England Elizabeth I AR 3 Pence 1566 Her bust l rose shield 19 mm G



England - Elizabeth I 1558-1603 AR Sixpence 3rd-4th issue crescent mintmark


England - Elizabeth I - 1558-1603 AR Shilling


AYYUBID Caliphate - Saladin al-Nasir Salah al Din Yusuf AH564-589 1169-1193 CE AR Dirham




RUSSIA Ivan IV The Terrible 1533-1584 AR Denga Moscow mint Horseman riding right brandishing sword - Inscription in lines G&K 59 Rare type

SPAGHETTI MAN!

Bhuvanaika Bahu CE 1273-1284 Æ Massa 3.9g 19mm King throne solar symbol altar flame lotus - King reclining sankh-conch Nagari-Sri Bhuvanaika Bahu MNI 851-52

Got a few more... but tired tonite...

 

Thanks @Alegandron

Those are some great coins. thanks for posting them.

 

Great groat. It does have a nice portrait and looks like high quality silver with nice surfaces.

 

Another great coin @Orfew congrats on the win. It is a really pleasing coin. While never numerous, Harlan J Berk always has some nice hammered English coins. I have yet to add Edward IV to my English collection, but would love to pick up some of his coins such as an Irish double groat.

I'll add a Richard II Groat.

Richard II AR Groat Type III. Tower (London) mint. 26mm, 4.55 g
Obv: + RICΛRD’· DЄI : GRΛ’· RЄX : ΛnGL’· Z : FRΛnCIЄ (single and double saltire stops), crowned facing bust within double polylobe Rev: + POSVI DЄVm : Λ DIVTOR Єm : mЄV’/CIVI TΛS LOИ DOИ, long cross pattée; trefoil in each quarter.
North 1321a; SCBC 1680.

 

@TheRed

Nice Richard II. As to Harlan Berk's sales, I agree. My Edward IV is the second I have bought from the same sale. The first was an Edward I penny that I felt I got for a fantastic price.

I got this penny for 50.00 plus shipping.

 

Great story and great coin, Orfew.
Another interesting addition to your english hammered collection.

It is nice to be able to post/read about mediaeval coinage in this forum.

Here is a related coin. It is an Flemish Rose Noble or Gold Ryal, imitating a Gold Ryal of Ten Shillings of Edward IV of England. Kings initials on the ships banner.
This issue was struck in the low Countries and is attributed to the mint at Gorinchem (Gorkum) ca. 1585-1587.

 

that's octodude..spaghetti man..."snicker"

 

this reminds me i have tobuku historical coins that i've been neglecting ..i get tunnel vision on these ancients. excuse the bad pics, i must redo them. here's a few..
Peter the G silver denga, Sigismund keutzer before wicwork and a couple of Leopolds

 

Wow, that is a lovely coin @Eduard I would love to have a gold noble in my collection.

My Edward IV will be a part of a sub-collection of mine:

Coins of historical figures dramatized in Shakespeare’s plays
(I am still looking for those coins with an Asterix)

Lepidus*

Sextus Pompey

Brutus

Julius Caesar

Marc Antony

Cassius*

Octavian (Augustus)

Henry VIII*

Henry IV*

Henry V

Henry VI*

Richard II*

Richard III*

Edward Black Prince of Wales

Eleanor of Acquitaine*

John*

Richard I*

Cleopatra*

The Dauphin (later Charles VII)

Edward IV

 

Great coin. I've priced them myself and he's yet to be added. One I would like though!

 

my only hammered coin from britian...




Edward I (1272-1307), Penny

o:+EDWR ANGL DNS HYB, r: CIVITAS LONDON, S 1383, London mint, 20 mm, 1.5g

i didn't know they hammered out this style of coin for so long!

 

That's a really cool idea for a collection @Orfew, though why no Henry VII?

It shouldn't be too difficult for you to complete the English section, though pricey for a few, especially Henry IV. His coinage is rare, and always expensive. Mostly pennies, rarely a groat or half groat. Oddly enough his Anglo-Gallic coins are somewhat easier to come by.

 

@TheRed
Thanks for the kind words. I thought this would be an interesting direction given my love for Shakespeare and coins.

LOL I forgot all about Henry VII. I shall have to add him to the list. Yes Henry IV will be pricey and so will Richard III.

 

I like these hammered coins.. great OP.. someday I hope I can complete my Tudor series..