Elizabeth I gold Angel 7th issue

Elizabeth I (1558-1603), fine gold Angel, seventh issue (1601-02) St Michael slaying dragon right, inner and outer beaded circle, initial mark 1 (1601-02) both sides, Latin legend surrounding with beaded inner and outer circles, ELIZABETH: D'.G'. ANG'. FR' ET: HIB. REGINA., rev. inverted die axis, ship sailing right, large quartered shield upon hull, cross above, E to left, rose to right, crows nest of ship beyond inner beaded circle, Latin legend and outer beaded border surrounding, A:DNO: FACTVM. EST: ISTVD: ET: EST: MIRABI'., weight 5.06g (Schneider 823 same dies; B&C 2 C49; N.2005; S.2538). A little weakly struck on upper body of Angel and on corresponding part of reverse on hull, otherwise a bold to good very fine and extremely rare, thought to be less than five known of this mint mark.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Elizabeth by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland"; and on the reverse "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." A Psalm from the Bible.

A new indenture with Sir Richard Martin as Warden and his son Richard Martin as Master Worker of 29^th July 1601, heralded the new issue of gold coins at a slightly reduced weight standard of 78.9 grains for the fine gold Angel of ten shillings. The weight reduction, which was larger for the silver coinage, was an adjustment for a perceived under valuation of English coin compared to that on the Continent. The out put of the last fine gold issues of the reign are very small indeed when compared to the rest of the reign which would explain the low survival rate of coins such as that offered here. In fact only £1,292 worth of fine gold was issued for the whole of mint marks 1 and 2 from 29^th July 1601 till 24^th March 1603. Brown and Comber in their article on the Elizabethan gold coinage in the British Numismatic Journal of 1989 go further in estimating that approximately £1,000 of this total was mint mark 2 and only £292 was mint mark 1. At the time of their article only three examples of the mint mark 1 were known to them and there was no example present in the British Museum collection. The Schneider example 823 is catalogued as ex Doubleday erroneously, when it is in fact the Ryan Collection coin lot 295. The price this coin above achieved in the 1961 Doubleday auction, was nearly triple the price of the next highest priced Angel of Elizabeth.

Provenance:
Ex Gordon V Doubleday, Glendining, 20^th November 1961, lot 123, sold for £110.