Richard III AD 1483-1485 Silver Penny Durham

Richard III AD 1483-1485 Silver Penny

Bishop Sherwood

mm. lis

Durham mint

S2169; 15mm, 0.63g

Richard III was the younger brother of Edward IV and one of the principal Yorkists during the War of the Roses. Created Duke of Gloucester when Edward became king he was an able administrator and was responsible for governing much of northern England during the reign of his brother. When Edward died suddenly in AD 1483 Richard was nominated Lord Protector. Conflict with the Woodvilles resulted in Richard imprisoning the two sons of Edward IV in the Tower. When a bishop then declared that the princes were illegitimate Richard claimed the throne and was crowned in place of Edward V in July AD 1483.
A rebellion by the Duke of Buckingham in the autumn of AD 1483 was quickly put down however in the summer of AD 1485 Henry Tudor landed in Wales with an army raised in France. The 2 armies met at Bosworth Fields where Richard was defeated and killed. Richard’s body has recently been found beneath a car park and has now been reburied in Leicester Cathedral. Richard was the last English king to be killed in battle and is also the last of the last of the Plantagenets.