Suns and roses type penny of Edward IV
The images of this coin were sent in by Paul Tongue. When describing the coin some of the detail is taken from Irish Hammered Pennies of Edward IV and Richard III by Jasper Burns. Over the last couple of decades our knowledge of the manufacture and circulation of Irish coins during the 15th century has benefitted greatly through detecting finds. Most of these finds have come from English soil and the have provided evidence of the large scale export to England of Irish coins. If you are considering buying a copy of the reference work by Burns then do ensure that you purchase the latest edition rather than an early copy that could include outdated information.
Paul’s find is a suns and roses type penny of Edward IV, which was found in Lincolnshire. The position of the suns and roses point towards the obverse being Burns’ type S-2 but the portrait of the king looks more like Burns’ type S-3.
Valuation
The detail within the inner circle on the obverse would grade about VF but the legend is mostly flat and the edge is slightly chipped. The reverse is weaker and has been struck off centre.
This type used to be quite rare but over the last 20 years I have seen several specimens as detecting finds. The type is distinctive and still popular but in its present state of preservation I’d expect this example to have a rice range no higher than £80-100.
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