Henry IX (1784-1807), silver Touch Piece, brother of Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie

Henry IX (second son of James III 1725-1807), officially pierced silver touchpiece, Italian manufacture by Hamerani, toothed outer borders both sides, three masted ship in full sail right, legend reads H.IX.D.G.M.B. F:ET H.R.C.EP. TVSC. finely executed, rev. struck en medaille, St. Michael spearing dragon left, SOLI DEO GLORIA surrounds, weight 3.14g (Woolf 74:1). Toned good very fine, graded by NGC as XF details cleaned, extremely rare.

NGC Certification 6946012-004 - this coin has been wrongly labelled by NGC as his Father "James III" perhaps because their database does not support Henry IX.

The legends translate as "Henry the Ninth by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Cardinal, Bishop of the diocese of Tusulum" on obverse and on the reverse "Glory to God alone."

The so called "Kings Evil" or Morbus Regius also known as the disease scrofula was what the Royal touch from the monarch was purported to be able to cure. Since the time of King Edward the Confessor (later canonised) a belief in prayer coupled with the Royal touch could incur a miraculous recovery and it became usual to give money as alms to the afflicted, in the Middle Ages a Penny as a day's wages for a labourer. Later in the medieval period the gold Angel coin became prominent as the "doctors" coin as the 6s and 8d face value was the standard fee of a medical doctor at the time. The reverse legend of Angel coins was revered as a healing inscription coupled with St. Michael slaying the devil as a dragon. As the monarch was seen to have a divine right to Kingship and was related to the now Sainted King, the coin became effectively a healing amulet especially if the monarch had once touched it. The passing of a Touch-Piece therefore became more commonplace under the Stuart reigns of James I and Charles I, and at these times of plague and other disease it was sensible for the King to pass such Angel coins, rather than to touch those physically ailed, a social distance being maintained by the gift of coin. The recipient who may have cured from their ill would covet such a coin and wear it against their skin probably for the rest of their life, and this is why such coins are often holed. By the time of the later Stuart reigns of Charles II and James II the Angel coin was no longer in production as machinery had become the new norm at the Mint. A need to still touch for the Kings evil meant production of these special pieces as we have for sale herewith prevailed and there was even a gap left in the legend where the piercing would occur. The reverse depicts the warship "The Sovereign of the Seas" launched in October 1637 and in service until it was burned by fire in Chatham docks in 1697.

Henry IX as he was styled on this touch piece was the younger brother of "Bonnie" Prince Charlie and grandson of James II. The Jacobite right of succession passed to Henry then aged 62 on the death of Charles in January 1788. Henry was born 6^th March 1725 in Rome and was baptised immediately by Pope Benedict XIII and soon after became the Duke of York. Henry was enrolled in the Sacred College of Cardinals in June 1747 and created Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico (a.k.a. Campitelli) on 9^th July. He was ordained as a priest by Pope Benedict XIV in four minor orders through to 1748, and in 1751 was made Arch-Priest of the Vatican Basilica. He was raised to Cardinal-Priest of Santi XII Apostoli on 18^th December 1752 and later on 13^th March 1758 became Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. He became Archbishop of Corinth on 2^nd October 1758 under Pope Clement XIII. Shortly after he became Bishop in the Basilica Dei Santi XII Apostli and Cardinal Bishop of Frascati in 1761. He became Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church on 24^th January 1763 and then lived at Frascati for the next forty years.

Upon the death of his brother Charles in January 1784, Henry had made sure he had reaffirmed his rights to succession via a protest, whereupon the Jacobites recognised him as Henry IX and styled himself as Cardinal called Duke of York and he changed his ducal arms to now show a Royal crown. On 26^th September 1803 Henry was named Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri though he remained at Frascati until his death on 13^th July 1807 and he was interred in the crypt of the Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican.

Henry's touch-pieces which would have been issued from only as early as 1784 is likely the work of the Hamerani brothers or even their Father Fernando. It is known that Henry gave his touch in 1788 from diary entries by his secretary, but also likely he touched earlier. Many of the entries in the diary refers to touch pieces as medals and the importance of them being presented and touched is signified in the diary each time by the word "segno" a distinction used only in the diary for benedictions and consecrations. For further reading see "The Sovereign Remedy - Touch-Pieces and the King's Evil" by Noel Woolf.

Provenance:

Ex Viscount Tredegar, Sotheby - 12^th April 1948, lot 35.

Ex C. F. Noon - Spink, 8^th October 2003, lot 333.