York penny of Henry VI
This hammered silver coin was unearthed very recently by Anthony Hopkinson, who described it as being in poor condition. Anthony thought it could be a bit tricky to identify due to its condition but over the years I’ve seen far worse coins than this one.
Firstly, the coin measures about 19mm in diameter so it is a penny. On the obverse the legend starts with hEN, the mint mark is an unusual shape and there are pellets by the king’s crown. On the reverse the legend reads CIVI TAS EBO RACI, there is a quatrefoil in the centre and extra pellets in two quarters.
All the preceding information adds up to this penny belonging to the leaf pellet issue of Henry VI. It was struck for the profit of William Booth, who was Archbishop of York from 1452 to 1664. This penny is a variety of the leaf pellet issue with no leaf on the king’s breast. In the Standard Catalogue the type is listed as number 1925.    Â
Valuation
Anthony’s coin is a reasonably good example of a type of penny that doesn’t turn up very often as a detecting find. The condition isn’t all that bad so to a keen collector it should be worth around £30.
Valuation Service
If you would like your coin identified or valued, please read about my valuation service and contact me