Item number: A374

Year: AD 1412-1413

Material: Gold

Size: 18.7 x18.1 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 1.65 g

Provenance: Noonans 2022

This gold coin is a light coinage of ¼ noble, minted in London during AD 1412-1413, under the reign of King Henry IV. The obverse features a central quartered coat of arms of the House of Lancaster within a tressure, adorned with lis on cusps, trefoils, and annulets surrounding the coat of arms, all enclosed within an inner beaded circle. The legend around the script reads “hENRIC,” while the remaining legends are unclear but should read “DI GRA REX AnGL Z F,” translating to “Henry by the Grace of God King of England and France.” The reverse displays a Floriate cross with lis in the center and leopards in the angles, all within a tressure inside an inner beaded circle. The legend around is also unclear but should read “EXALTABITVR IN GLORIA,” translating to “He shall be exalted in glory.”

Nobles minted during the reign of King Henry IV (AD 1399-1413) are categorized into two types: the “Heavy Coinage” weighing 120 grains (7.8 grams), minted in Calais and London, produced until AD 1412, and the subsequent “Light Coinage” weighing 108 grains (7.0 grams), minted exclusively in London during AD 1412-13. Strikes from Calais are distinguished by a flag at the stern of the ship.

Within two weeks of deposing his cousin Richard II, Henry IV instructed the master of the mint on October 14, AD 1399, to commence coin production. The urgency to resume minting was driven by both economic and propaganda imperatives. Due to the Statute of Purveyors of AD 1352, which prohibited alterations to the coinage basis without parliamentary consent, the established weight standards for each denomination remained unchanged.

However, Henry IV encountered a similar issue as during the reign of Richard II— the value of the weight of precious metals in the coinage exceeded its denomination, resulting in decreased circulation of money and consequent negative impacts on the economy. To address this issue, in November AD 1411, during a parliament presided over by the Prince of Wales, a decree was issued to reduce the weight of the penny from 18 to 15 grains, effective from Easter Day AD 1412. This adjustment facilitated renewed coin production at the mint, albeit resulting in only marginal profits for the king.

物件編號: A374

年代: 公元 1412-1413年

材料: 金

尺寸: 18.7 x18.1 x 0.4 mm

重量: 1.65 g

來源: 諾南斯 2022

這枚金幣是亨利四世統治時期(公元 1412-1413)在倫敦鑄造的¼貴族輕幣。正面的中央展示了蘭卡斯特王朝的紋章，被盾牌包圍，周圍有菱形、三葉草和指環，全部位於內部珠飾圓圈內。環繞的銘文為「hENRIC」，其餘的字樣不明確，但應該包括「DI GRA REX AnGL Z F」，翻譯為「蒙上帝之恩，英法國王亨利」。背面展示了中心有菱形的花卉十字架，角落有豹子，同樣位於內部珠飾圓圈內。環繞的文字亦不清晰，但應該是「EXALTABITVR IN GLORIA」，翻譯為「他必在榮耀中升高」。

亨利四世統治期間(公元 1399年至1413年)鑄造的貴族金幣可分為兩種：「重幣」重120格林(7.8克)，直到1412年停產，於加萊造幣廠及倫敦造幣廠鑄造，及隨後的「輕幣」重108格林(7.0克)，僅在公元 1412年至公元 1413年間於倫敦造幣廠鑄造。加萊造幣廠的鑄幣以船艦尾部的旗幟區別。

亨利四世在推翻堂兄理查二世後的兩週內，於公元 1399年10月14日指示造幣廠長開始生產貨幣。恢復鑄幣的緊迫性來自經濟與宣傳優先考量。由於公元 1352年的《供應商法》禁止未經議會同意改變貨幣的標準，各種面額的重量照舊保持不變。

但亨利四世面對和理查二世統治時期一樣的問題——貨幣實際所含貴金屬的重量價值高於貨幣面值，使得流通的貨幣數量減少，從而影響經濟。為了解決此困境，公元1411年11月，由威爾斯親王主持的議會裁定，將便士的重量從18格林減少至15格林，從隔年的復活節日生效，其結果再次使得在造幣廠鑄造貨幣成為可能，並為國王帶來少許利潤。