Choice Crown Groat
IRELAND. Edward IV. First reign, 1461-1470. AR Groat (24mm, 2.81 g, 12h). Anonymous ‘Crown’ coinage. Dublin mint. Struck circa 1460-1463. Large crown in tressure of arches; trefoils at cusps / Long cross pattée; trefoils in quarters, annulets in 2nd and 4th trefoils. SCBC 6280. Toned, made round. Good VF. Choice for issue. Rare.
In 1459, the rebel Richard, Duke of York, arrived to Ireland and soon began preparations for his invasion of England and final overthrow of Henry VI. But to do so, he would need support of the Anglo-Irish parliament. The parliament shrewdly exploited the situation to declare Ireland’s independence from England and, among other items, enact a sweeping currency reform. Prior to the coinage of 1460, the Anglo-Irish coinage was struck at the same weight standard and in the same denominations as the English, an arrangement that allowed the wealth of Ireland to flow westward in the purses of English traders. To address this problem, the parliament devised a new currency regime with a reduced standard set to 3/4 sterling and new, uniquely Irish designs.
