Superb Series B/A Noble
PLANTAGENET. Edward III. 1327-1377. AV Noble (33mm, 7.75 g, 4h). Fourth coinage, pre-treaty period, series B/A mule. Tower (London) mint. Struck 1351. ЄD WARD’ · DЄI · GRA · RЄX · AИGL’ · 7 · FRAИC · D · hУB’ (annulet stops), Edward standing facing in ship, holding sword and shield; ornaments 1-11-11-11, ropes 3/3, quatrefoils 4/3, lis 3 / + IhC : TRΛИSIЄИS : PЄR : mЄDIV : ILLORVm : IBAT : (double saltire stops), voided short cross potent over cross fleurée; in each angle, crown over lion passant over trefoil; at center, inverted Є within quadrilobe; all within polylobe, with trefoils in spandrels; lis in second quarter. Lawrence A/–; cf. Schneider 9 (for type); North 1139; SCBC 1485. Lustrous. In NGC encapsulation 6489289-003, graded MS 62. Struck from dies of very fine workmanship. A most pleasing example of this very rare early issue.
On 20 July 1351, in the aftermath of the Black Death and the far reaching economic changes it wrought, Edward III made an indenture with Henry of Brussels and John of Chichester for a new coinage which provided for gold nobles of 6 shillings 8 pence struck in fine gold at a reduced weight of 120 grains. Whereas the earlier gold Leopard and Noble coinages of 1343, 1344 and 1346 had struggled to gain acceptance this new coinage proved popular and the standards stipulated in the 1351 indenture were to remain in place till 1408. Among the earliest and rarest nobles of this new coinage were those struck from reverse dies of Lawrence’s series A. These dies are readily distinguished from those of later series by the occasional inversion of the E in the centre of the floriate cross, the cross patty mint mark, double saltire stops, the exceptionally fine broad lettering, and the omission of AVTEM in the legend. No obverse dies for the noble and its fractions are known of series A. Lord Stewartby in English Coins notes that the dies ‘of group A can only have been produced for a very short time, perhaps even days, before the new lettering of group B was introduced.’ This smaller group B lettering was better suited to the smaller flans of the new coinage.
