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TUDOR. Henry VIII. 1509-1547. AR Groat (26mm, 2.58 g, 7h). First coinage. Tournai mint; im: crowned τ. Struck 1513-1518. Crowned bust right / Coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée. Whitton –; North –; Stewartby p. 437; SCBC 2317. Toned, slightly granular surface, flan split. Fine. Very rare.
From the Arthur M. Fitts III Collection, purchased from Gordon A. Singer.
The Belgian town of Tournai (Doornik) was captured by English forces under the young king Henry VIII after a brief siege from 10-23 September 1513. Henry was campaigning in the Low Countries with Emperor Maximilian I in what is today known as the War of the League of Cambrai, one of many theaters in the series of conflicts between the Austrian Hapsburgs and the French Valois. English forces would hold the city until it was returned to the French in the Treaty of London in 1518.
A limited series of English-style silver groats would be struck in Tournai during the city’s brief period of Tudor control. Marked with a crowned τ initial mark, the dies for this short-lived coinage would later be repunched with the portcullis mark and pressed into service in London. The issue is today very rare, so much so that R. Carlyon-Britton considered these to be patterns. In addition to English-style groats and halfgroats, two types of French-style gros are known, both extremely rare (Vanhoudt G417-8).
Closing Date and Time: 16 November 2022 at 14:22:00 ET.
All winning bids are subject to an 20% buyer’s fee.
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