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V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE A NEW GOLD PENNY OF HENRY IIIOn January 23rd Spink is selling a rare gold penny of Henry III. Here's a description from their recent email. The coun was found near Hemyock (Devon) in September 2021. -Editor 
As an economic experiment, Henry's gold Penny has long been regarded as the abject failure of a weakened and even bankrupt king. This would however completely disregard the context of the coinage in British history. Not only was the advent of a brand new gold coinage seismic in the domestic medieval landscape, but also shows the direct influence on daily life of the international trade routes with the gold and spice rich Middle East. Artistically the coin also provides a ground-breaking shift from the depictions of a King restrained by the stipulations of Magna Carta, to his own personification as England's original patron Saint Edward the Confessor. It is no coincidence that a King who idolised the Confessor and actively restored his famous Abbey at Westminster would wish to be seen in the same high regard. Most significantly the coin depicts the enthroned King sitting atop a cross-hatched pavement; conceivably a very early allusion to the world-famous Cosmati Great Pavement conceived in 1259 and laid in 1268, in essence, this coin depicts an enthroned King at the seat of all Royal Coronations since William the Conqueror.
Henry III (1216-1272)
Gold Penny of 20-Pence, authorised 16 August 1257, London,
h | ENRIC ‘ REX III
Estimate £200,000-£400,000
To read the complete lot description, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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