Canterbury halfgroat of Henry VII

This hammered silver coin was sent in by Tony Hollis, who asked for a full ID and a valuation on his find.

Tony’s find is a Canterbury halfgroat of Henry VII. I can see only a single saltire stop in the legends and the mint mark is a tun on both sides. On the reverse the legend reads CIVI TAS CAN TOR and the letter O has a bar across the centre.

Halfgroats of this generic type were issued for the joint profit of King Henry and the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the Standard Catalogue three types are listed and this coin is type IIIc. Lord Stewartby, in English Coins 1180-1551, identified four types and he lists this coin as type IIId.

This type of halfgroat is the coin of Henry VII most frequently found by detectorists. Over the years I’ve managed to find four examples and I know of detectorists who have unearthed even more. Many specimens look to have been clipped but they are almost invariably full weight but short of flan,

Valuation

Tony’s coin is slightly short of flan but still a bit larger than average. There is what could be a crease mark on the obverse, which detracts from its overall appearance but the coin should still be worth £40 to a collector.

Valuation Service

If you would like your coin identified or valued, please read about my valuation service and contact me