“Sun and Rose” penny of Edward IV or V

When this coin turned up Darren White said he initially thought it was a penny of Edward IV. However, he has been told it could be Edward V so Darren asked for my opinion on his find.

On the obverse the legend reads EDWARD DEI GRA REX AnG with no punctuation marks. The mark at the start of the legend is a halved sun and rose. On the reverse the legend reads CIVI TAS LON DON. Leading on from all this, I can say that this London penny is the type listed as number 2147 in the Standard Catalogue.

The halved sun and rose mark was first used very late in the reign of Edward IV and continued to be used during the short reign of Edward V. For that reason silver coins with this mark are usually listed as Edward IV or V. Halved sun and rose groats and halfpennies are very rare but pennies are excessively rare.

Valuation

A specimen was sold at auction during 2020, which was described as being VF but with some ghosting on the obverse. Both sides were somewhat off centre but this wasn’t mentioned in the description. The pre-sale estimate was $3,000 but the final hammer price was $11,000.

On the obverse of Darren’s find the king’s face is weak but everything else is sharp, clear and well struck. Sadly, the reverse is badly double struck. However, the obverse is the most important side. If I was cataloguing this coin for sale at auction the because of its great rarity and the attractive obverse I would set the pre-sale estimate no lower than £3,500-4,000.

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