Ex Archbishop Sharp
TUDOR. Henry VII. 1485-1509. AR Groat (25mm, 3.23 g, 1h). Facing bust issue, class IIIc. Tower (London) mint; im: anchor. Struck 1499-1502. Crowned facing bust within double polylobe with fleurs at cusps; two arches in crown, one plain, one jewelled / Long cross pattée; triple pellets in quarters. North 1705c; SCBC 2199A. Toned. VF.
Ex Archbishop Sharp Collection (Morton & Eden 91, 7 December 2017), lot 156 (part of).
Dr. John Sharp (1644-1714) was a clergyman who rose through the offices of the Church of England to become Archbishop of York in 1691. Sharp started collecting coins in 1687 and focused his energies primarily on the issues of the British Isles, acquiring many highly important rarities. Sharp was in contact with several other leading numismatists of his age, including Ralph Thoresby, to whom he addressed his manuscript, Observations on the Coinage of England, published in 1785. The great 19th Century numismatist, Roger Ruding, regarded this work as, "the first systematic treatise ever composed on the subject." On Sharp's death, the collection was left to his son and was kept together for some 250 years by his descendants. In the words of the late Harry Manville, 'Sharp pedigrees are among the oldest available in British numismatics.'
