Edward V AD 1483 Silver Groat London *Rare*

Edward V AD 1483 Silver Groat

Crowned bust facing. No pellet below bust

mm. Halved sun and rose

London mint

S2146A; 24mm, 2.77g

A nice example of this rare monarch, a little clipped but mint mark and name still visible and a bold portrait.

ex Seaby Coins and Medals Bulletin, March 1983, E197* – “good fine” – £400 (with ticket)

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Edward V was the eldest son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and is perhaps better known as one of the Princes in the Tower. When Edward IV died suddenly in AD 1483 Edward V was only 12 years old. His uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester effectively became Protector. Conflict between Richard and the Woodvilles quickly resulted in Richard taking possession of the two sons of Edward IV and imprisoning them in the Tower of London. After a while both princes disappeared. Meanwhile when a bishop declared that the princes were illegitimate Richard connived to claim the throne and was crowned in July AD 1483.
It is believed that Richard arranged to have the princes murdered however there is a theory that both princes survived only to be murdered after Henry VII became king in AD 1485. Another theory claims that the princes escaped the Tower to reappear a few years later as the Pretenders Lambert Simmel and Perkin Warbeck.