Queen Anne 1702-1714AD Gold Touch Piece RARE

Queen Anne 1702-1714AD Gold Touch Piece. RARE

21mm, 3.02g

SOLI DEO GLORIA, Archangel Michael spearing dragon / ANNA D G M B F ET H REG, Royal ship sailing left. The “touching” was a common practice in Britain during medieval times, characterized as a test of royal legitimacy, where the Queen would hang symbolically holed coins (now talismans) about the neck of the infirmed, in order to cure illnesses such as the Scrofula disease. The Angel was the coin of choice due to it’s representation of the defeat of the dragon, a symbol of Evil, associated with disease. With sole ceremonial purpose, the Touch Piece was designed to replace the gold Angels, preserving the Archangel design, but adding the Royal Ship on the reverse, in allusion to the monarch. The practice lasted for centuries, Queen Anne being the last monarch to “Touch” in England.