Groat of Henry V

Colin Pearson sent in the images of this hammered silver coin on behalf of a detecting colleague, Glyn Thomas. The coin was believed to be a groat of Henry V, as it has a mullet on the king’s shoulder.

In the case of groats of Henry V there seems to be a never-ending number of varieties, many of which are very similar. A mullet started to appear during series B and continued into series C.  The difference between series B and series C is that the former has a scowling bust of the king but the bust on the latter is frowning. When there is wear to the crucial features it is difficult or impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Other differences (or similarities) between series B and C is the presence of a quatrefoil after hENRIC on the obverse and POSVI on the reverse. The quatrefoil is common to series C but does not always appear on series B. Glyn’s coin has a saltire and a comma after hENRIC, so it may be struck from a late series B die. The reverse die has no quatrefoil after POSVI so that die might also be of series B.

Unfortunately, the crucial aspect is whether or not the bust is scowling or frowning but due to circulation wear I cannot say if it is definitely one or the other.    

Valuation

This groat is weak in places but is otherwise in near Fine condition with reasonable eye appeal. If accepted as being a coin of series B then it would be worth at least £200. However, potential buyers might be put off by the uncertainty about its exact classification.

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