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Henry VII, penny

The detectorist who found this hammered silver coin asked to remain anonymous. He wanted a full ID for the coin, which turned up during the morning of 26 April.

From the design of the obverse, which features a seated figure of the king, I can say this is a sovereign type penny of Henry VII. The finder thought it could be a coin of Henry VII but couldn’t match it to any of those in the Standard Catalogue.

On the obverse the throne has two double pillars, so it belongs to type 4 (number 2230 in the Standard Catalogue). The mint mark (if there is one) does not show up clearly on this side.

On the reverse a cross divides up the legend into four sections. The cross is normally superimposed on the shield bearing the quartered arms of England and France. However, on this coin the cross arms are broken and each stop short of the shield. The only pennies I traced with this type of reverse were of type 3 (number 2228 in the Standard Catalogue). The mint signature doesn’t show up clearly but this is definitely a London penny of Henry VII.

I failed to trace another Henry VII London penny with an obverse of S. 2230 and a reverse of S. 2228, so this coin is obviously a rarity. In terms of its condition, the legends are weak but the centre on both sides stands out well; it is also short of flan, which is a common fault for sovereign type pennies. Despite the slight defects, this is a coin that would be of great interest to a specialist collector.

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