Edward III half noble restored
Valuation
Richard Lyon told me that this hammered gold coin was a recent find.
Richard’s half noble when unearthed …
… and professionally restored
This image shows the twisted and mangled state it was in when I surfaced; the image below shows the obverse and reverse after the coin had been restored to its original shape by someone skilled in this type of remedial work.
It’s a half noble of Edward III but I can’t pin the legend down to a specific variety as parts are impossible to decipher. On the reverse there is a small fleur de lis by the lion’s head in the first quarter, there are annulets on the corners of the central panel, in which is a Lombardic letter E.
The preceding characteristics tell me that this half noble was at London struck during the transitional treaty period (1361). In the Standard Catalogue coins of this type are listed as number 1500.
Valuation
Hammered gold coins sometimes look to have been clipped but they can be struck on full weight flans that are too small for the dies. This coin should weight 60 grains but it weighs only 47 grain, so it has been clipped. There is no sign of any crease marks or cracks, so the restorer should be congratulated doing such a great job of bringing the coin back to its original condition. As it stands, it would grade better than Fine and I’d set a pre-sale auction estimate a £600 – £800.
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