House of York AD 1461-1485

Medieval House of York coins for sale.

To increase bullion supply to the mint, the Yorkist king Edward IV reduced the penny weight, raised the gold value, and introduced a new gold coin , the Ryal (or Rose Noble) with a value of 10 shillings. Thus we observe ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ coinage for this reign. It was soon to be replaced by the Angel, at two thirds its weight, which was a more usable coin. Provincial mints at Bristol, Coventry, Norwich and York were opened to deal with the re-coinage.
The short restoration of Henry VI in 1470 saw little change to the system. When Edward IV returned to the throne in 1471, the Angel continued to be the gold standard. He expanded the use of initial marks (privy marks) to show dates of issue. From a numismatic viewpoint this provides another dimension for the collector.
Right at the end of his reign the halved sun and rose mintmark was introduced which covered the short reign of Edward V and early into that of Richard III, when it was replaced by the boar’s head. The sun and rose mintmark re-appeared trowards the end of Richards’s reign.
Although the Battle of Bosworth and rise of the Tudor dynasty was a significant point in English history, the first Tudor coinage differed only in name (Henry VII) and mintmark from the previous plantagenet system.