1666 - 350 in 66 items

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY PRIVATE SALE CATALOGUE
15. Richard III Groat, mint mark Sun and Rose, dating this coin to the very end of Richard’s
reign, being struck after 1484, 27mm, being the legend CIVITAS LONDON on the reverse
of the coin, this example was struck in London, good very fine.
*Richard III was king for only two years and was the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet
dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.
He was the last king of England to die on the battlefield. This coin was found at Bosworth Field
Battlefield, 22 nd August 1485, and would have belonged to a soldier fighting against Henry Tudor, who
won the day to found the Tudor Dynasty. This coin shows very little wear and would indicate the coin
was struck perhaps to pay the troops heading into battle. Richard’s remains were found under a car park
in 2013.
16. William Place Half Penny Token for an Early Postman, c. 1661, 18mm, Grays Inn
Gate, about very fine and an important historical piece.
*17 th century tokens were issued by traders due to the failure of the Parliament to provide sufficient
small denomination coinage. William Place offered a variety of services from lozenges, stationery and
delivering letters. An advertisement placed in the Mercurius Publicus, no.24, June 15-22, 1663:
Advertisement from His MAJESTY’S General Post-office in London
“These are to give notice to all persons concerned, that the persons hereunder named are appointed to receive
all Letters that shall be brought unto them, to be sent (by post) into any part of His Majesties Dominions of
England, Scotland, and Ireland … the said persons so appointed receiving Salaries for such service … that is
to say … Mr. William Place, Stationer at Greys-Inne-gate.”
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