Henry V/VI, 1422, Half Noble, VERY RARE MULE, Finest Known?
$16,900.00
S1806 N1380/1417 Wt 3.45 gr MM lis. A very rare mule using an obverse die of Henry V class G with quatrefoil over sail and an annulet issue reverse die of Henry VI with a large annulet in one spandrel. OBV: Henry V, class G. Quatrefoil over sail, first stop is a mullet, rest are annulet stops, saltire stop before and after Z. This bit of punctuation is noted by Schneider who has two such muled examples from the same obverse die as this coin. REV: Henry VI annulet issue. Annulet in first spandrel, the rest are lis.
As usual, some remaining Henry V dies were put to use when the infant Henry VI came to the throne in 1422. Making dies out of hardened steel was expensive and made by only a handful of skilled craftsmen. Mules exist for all three gold denominations, the noble, 1/2 noble and 1/4 noble. Few have survived making this coin very rare to extremely rare. This example has an even, sharp strike with all lettering and detail crisp. This coin also boasts clear, expressive portrait; the lustre is complete, but akin to matte. Most notably, the clipping is minimal with all lettering and punctuation marks visible. There are no contact marks. The relatively low grade assigned to this coin is rather baffling, as I have seen other 1/2 nobles from this period graded MS63 that are clearly inferior to this piece. (judge for yourself) Perhaps the rather minor clipping keeps it from a higher grade, but this would not be in line with how other pieces have been graded. In any event, this is by far the highest graded of two examples seen by NGC and PCGS and possesses a beauty that well exceeds its grade. Very rare, only a few examples known, this coin possibly ranking as the finest extent. Catalogs for $6600 in VF. For comparison, a rosette mascle 1/2 half noble, that is much more common than this piece and graded by NGC as AU58, sold for L10000 plus 25% buyers fee (or $16770) in a recent Spinks Auction. The provenance is also complete, found near Brantingham, East Yorkshire in 2003, then sold Baldwins Auction #40, 3-4 May 2005, Lot 183. NGC MS62
NGC 2849001-01
S1806 N1380/1417 Wt 3.45 gr MM lis. A very rare mule using an obverse die of Henry V class G with quatrefoil over sail and an annulet issue reverse die of Henry VI with a large annulet in one spandrel. OBV: Henry V, class G. Quatrefoil over sail, first stop is a mullet, rest are annulet stops, saltire stop before and after Z. This bit of punctuation is noted by Schneider who has two such muled examples from the same obverse die as this coin. REV: Henry VI annulet issue. Annulet in first spandrel, the rest are lis.
As usual, some remaining Henry V dies were put to use when the infant Henry VI came to the throne in 1422. Making dies out of hardened steel was expensive and made by only a handful of skilled craftsmen. Mules exist for all three gold denominations, the noble, 1/2 noble and 1/4 noble. Few have survived making this coin very rare to extremely rare. This example has an even, sharp strike with all lettering and detail crisp. This coin also boasts clear, expressive portrait; the lustre is complete, but akin to matte. Most notably, the clipping is minimal with all lettering and punctuation marks visible. There are no contact marks. The relatively low grade assigned to this coin is rather baffling, as I have seen other 1/2 nobles from this period graded MS63 that are clearly inferior to this piece. (judge for yourself) Perhaps the rather minor clipping keeps it from a higher grade, but this would not be in line with how other pieces have been graded. In any event, this is by far the highest graded of two examples seen by NGC and PCGS and possesses a beauty that well exceeds its grade. Very rare, only a few examples known, this coin possibly ranking as the finest extent. Catalogs for $6600 in VF. For comparison, a rosette mascle 1/2 half noble, that is much more common than this piece and graded by NGC as AU58, sold for L10000 plus 25% buyers fee (or $16770) in a recent Spinks Auction. The provenance is also complete, found near Brantingham, East Yorkshire in 2003, then sold Baldwins Auction #40, 3-4 May 2005, Lot 183. NGC MS62
NGC 2849001-01
