Angel (coin)
The angel was an
In 1472, the half-angel was introduced with a similar design weighing 40 grains (2.6 grammes) with a diameter of 20 to 21 millimetres.
Design
Obverse The
Reverse:
Depicts a ship with the rays of the sun at the top of the cross-shaped masthead and an inescutcheon with the Royal Coat of Arms overall.
It was later replaced starting in the third coinage issue (1619-1624) of James I's reign with a galleon in a trian-aspect view (simulated three-dimensional rendering), a straight pillar-shaped masthead, and its sails decorated with the Stuart Royal Coat of Arms. It is also shown reversed, or depicted towards the dexter (i.e., facing the right-hand side of the heraldic field, or left-hand side of the coin).
- Legend 1 (1344-1553): per cruce[m] tua[m] salva nos christe rede[mptor], Latin > "By Thy cross save us, Christ Redeemer."
- Legend 2 (1553-1604): a domino factum est istud et est mirab[ile in oculis nostrum], Latin > "This was done by the Lord, and it is wondr[ous in our eyes]." From Psalm 118; motto adopted by Mary I Tudor.
- Legend 3 (1604-1624): a domino factum est istud, Latin > "This was done by the Lord". Truncated motto adopted by James I Stuart of England (James VI of Scotland).
- Legend 4 (1625-1642): amor populi praesidium regis, Latin > "The love of the people is the protection of the king." Ironic motto adopted by Charles I Stuart.
- Legend 5 (1660-1807): soli deo gloria, Latin > "To God alone the glory." Used on non-circulating gold-plated touchpieces by the reigning House of Stuart from 1660 to 1714 and the Jacobite pretenders in exile from 1689 to 1807.
Value
The angel varied in value from 6
- In 1526 during the reign of Henry VIII, it increased to seven shillings and six pence (7/6) or 90 pence.
- In 1544, it increased again to eight shillings (8/-) or 96 pence.
- In 1550 during the reign of Edward VI it increased to ten shillings (10/-) or 120 pence or £1⁄2.
- In 1612 during the reign of James Iit increased to eleven shillings (11/-) or 132 pence.
- In 1619 it decreased to ten shillings (10/-) and at that point in time it weighed 70 grains (4.5 g).
It was last minted during the reign of
Touch Pieces
In France and England there was a superstitious belief that the royal touch could cure scrofula, or "the king's evil". The kings of England often performed a ceremonial laying of hands on sufferers, and then gave each one a gold Angel coin.
After his execution in 1649, royalists believed that Angel coins that had been given to sufferers by the "martyred"
It was also practised by the exiled
Social impact
The angel was such an iconic coin that many English
The angel was traditionally given to people with the disease known as "
The 1610 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow was named after the coins. M'Crie wrote: "The bribery practised at this Assembly was shamefully notorious. Golden coins, called angels, were so plentifully distributed among the ministers, that it was called, by way of derision, the angelical Assembly."[7]
See also
- Angel (Manx coin)
- Agnel (coin)
- Maundy money
Notes
- ^ a b c EB (1911).
- ^ Gold Pennies Florins Leopards Nobles Ryals & Angels
- ^ Baker, Donald C. The 'Angel' of English Renaissance Literature, Studies in the Renaissance, Vol. 6 (1959), pp. 85-93. Cambridge University Press
- ^ Baker, Donald C. The 'Angel' of English Renaissance Literature, Studies in the Renaissance, Vol. 6 (1959), pp. 85-93. Cambridge University Press
- ^ Baker, Donald C. The 'Angel' of English Renaissance Literature, Studies in the Renaissance, Vol. 6 (1959), pp. 85-93. Cambridge University Press
- ^ Young, Francis. The Gold Angel: legendary coin, enduring amulet.
- ^ M'Crie 1875.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Angel", Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 6 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- M'Crie, Thomas (1875). The story of the Scottish church : from the Reformation to the Disruption. London: Blackie & Son. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
External links
- Media related to Angel (coin) at Wikimedia Commons
- Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (9th ed.), 1878, p. 28 ,