| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 145 with CNG & NGSA | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 1190 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: The Geoffrey Cope Collection of British Coins. Henry VII. 1485-1509. AR Testoon (30mm, 9.07 g, 10h). Profile issue. London mint; im: lis. Struck 1502-1504. (lis) hЄnRIC'· SЄPTIm'· DI'· GRΛ'· RЄX · ΛnGL'· Z · FRΛ', crowned bust right / (lis) POSVI DЄVm · Λ DIVTOR Є'· mЄVm, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée; trefoils in terminals. P&W type 2, dies 5/II-4 (this coin cited); Carlyon-Britton, Henry VII type 3; SCBI 23 (Ashmolean) –; North 1741; SCBC 2253 (this coin illustrated). The earliest Shilling. A small edge split otherwise toned. Near VF and Extremely rare. Ex E.M. Norweb (English Part IV, Spink 59, 17 June 1987), lot 1371; V.J.E. Ryan (English Part II, Glendinings, 22 January 1952), lot 969; T. Bliss (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 22 March & 15 May 1916), lot 251; J. G. Murdoch (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 31 March 1903), lot 396; H. Montagu (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 11 May 1896), lot 693. The testoon issue of Henry VII heralds the arrival of the Renaissance in the English coinage and a new denomination. Here, for the first time, is a true likeness in profile of an English monarch. These coins were inspired by the Italian testone (testa = head) of the late fifteenth century, issued by princes who ruled more by their own personal qualities than by dynastic right and who seized on the opportunity presented by the larger silver coins of the era to circulate their portrait among their subjects and further afield. The testoons of Henry VII proved too valuable for everyday use and only a small number were ever struck. The very valuable collection formed by Valentine Ryan, a leading mountaineer in the decade from 1903 who pioneered many routes in the Alps, included an unprecedented five Testoons of Henry VII. The iconic SEPTIM type, offered here, was the most desirable of the five, much the most expensive and sold for £80. Estimate: 25000 CHF |  |
