The noble was the first English

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22fineness#Karat, karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia (coin), Britannia, Canad ...

produced in quantity, introduced during the second coinage (1344–1346) of King Edward III. It was preceded by the

gold penny The gold penny was a medieval English coin with a value of twenty pence (i.e. pound sterling), minted in 1257 during the reign of Henry III. The coin was short-lived as it quickly became undervalued, which led to its almost complete disappeara ...

and the

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

, minted during the reign of King Henry III and the beginning of the reign of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

; these saw little circulation. The derivatives of the noble (the half noble and quarter noble), on the other hand, were produced in quantity and were very popular. The value of the coin was six shillings and eight pence (which could be written in various ways such as 6/8, 6''s.'' 8''d.'', or using Roman numerals ). This was equivalent to

pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

. The weight was changed from issue to issue to maintain this value until 1464 when the value was increased. During the history of this denomination there are many variations of inscription, mintmark, and (to some extent) design.

Origin

The coin was introduced during the second coinage (1344–1346) of King Edward III, when the coin weighed

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

s (8.97 grams, about

troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 p ...

); during the king's third coinage (1346–1351) the weight of the coin was reduced to grains (8.33 grams), while in his fourth coinage (1351–1377) it became even lighter, at 120 grains (7.78 grams; troy oz). The diameter of the noble was ; the half noble was and the quarter noble . Edward III Second Coinage obverse legend: EDWAR DGRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HYB ("Edward by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland"). (The Z shown here represents the Tironian "and" symbol: .)
Obverse design: The king, holding a sword and shield in a ship.
Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way.")
Reverse design: 'L' in centre of a cross. The image of the ship and the biblical text (from Luke 4:30) commemorate Edward's victory at the

Battle of Sluys The Battle of Sluys ( , ), also called the Battle of l'Écluse, was a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France. It took place in the roadstead of the port of Sluis, Sluys (French ''É ...

in 1340. The Third Coinage design is the same as the Second Coinage, except for having an 'E' in the centre of the cross on the reverse. During the Fourth Coinage, politics required changes in the inscriptions. Initially Edward retained his claim on the throne of France, but following the

Treaty of Brétigny A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...

in 1360 this claim was dropped, and coins instead claim

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

. In 1369 the treaty broke down and the claim on the throne of France was reinstated. ''Pre-Treaty legend (obverse)'': EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC D HYB(E) ("Edward, by the grace of God King of England and France, Lord of Ireland"). Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT (same as Second Coinage). ''Transitional period (1361) and Treaty period (1361–1369) (obverse)'': EDWARD DEI GRA REX ANGL DNS HYB Z ACQ (Edward by the grace of God King of England Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine). Reverse legend: IHC AUTE TRANSIES P MEDIUM ILLORR IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way") (many varieties exist and often whole words are missing). ''Post-Treaty period (1369–1377) (obverse)'': EDWARD DEI G REX ANG Z FRA DNS HYB Z ACT (Edward by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine). Reverse legend: same as 1361–1369.

1377 onwards

During the reign of

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

(1377–99), nobles were struck at both the London and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

mints, but today they are difficult to obtain. Coins minted at Calais can be distinguished because the ship has a flag at the stern. ''Obverse legend'': RICARD DI G REX ANGL Z FR DNS HIBS Z AQT (with minor variations in abbreviations) ("Richard by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine"). Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORR IBAT (many varieties exist) ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way"). There exists a variant obverse: RICARD DI GR REX ANGL DNS HIBS Z AQT – note the omission of the French title. Nobles produced during the reign of King Henry IV (1399–1413) are divided into the "Heavy Coinage" of 120 grains (7.78 grams) produced until 1412, and the "Light coinage" of 108 grains (7 grams, troy oz) produced in 1412–13. Henrician nobles are a little difficult to distinguish because

King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

also produced nobles and at first glance they look very similar, but variations particularly in

mintmark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It is distinct from a mintmaster mark, the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a co ...

s can tell them apart – interested readers are advised to consult a good coin catalogue. During the Heavy Coinage period, nobles were minted in both London and Calais, the Calais coins again being distinguished by the flag on the stern of the ship. During the Light Coinage period, nobles were only minted in London. ''Obverse legend'': HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FR DNS HIBS Z AQT (with many variations in abbreviations) ("Henry by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine") . Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORR IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way").

1413 onwards

Henry V's (1413–22) coins are very similar to those of his father, but there are about seven different varieties of design and style of lettering. The omission of the "and Aquitaine" title is another difference between the coins of Henry IV and V. ''Obverse legend'': HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HYB (often abbreviated) ("Henry by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of the Irish"). Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRAN(S)IENS PER MEDIUM ILLORR IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way"). Nobles were struck throughout Henry VI's first reign (1422–61), but a shortage of gold resulted in fewer coins being struck. There were a number of issues, from both the London and Calais mints, but towards the end of the period the coins were only struck in London. ''Obverse legend'': HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HYB (often abbreviated) ("Henry by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of the Irish"). Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORR IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way"). In an episode of the British archaeological television series ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...

'', a gold Noble was unearthed while excavating the drawbridge area of the moat of Codnor Castle. This helped to date the original castle construction and was believed to confirm the participation of the occupants in the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

1430 onwards

The gold noble, which had hardly changed in style, value, or quality since the reign of Edward III, was minted for the last time during the first reign of

King Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

(1461–1470). The price of gold rose from the 1430s onward, so gold coins were worth more in Europe than in England, which resulted in a gold shortage in England as coins were exported for profit. Only a small quantity of nobles were minted during Edward IV's Heavy Coinage period (1461–64), at London. Finally, in 1464 in an attempt to stop the coins drifting over to the continent, the value of all gold nobles was raised from six shillings and eight pence (6/8 or 80 pence) to eight shillings and four pence (8/4 or 100 pence), and a new coin, the "Rose Noble, or Royal" worth ten shillings and weighing 120 grains (7.8 grams) was introduced – however, it was unpopular and was discontinued after 1470. In contrast, a new coin worth six shillings and eight pence (the same as the original noble), the

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

was introduced in 1464 and soon became a popular and important coin. ''Obverse legend'': EDWARD DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HYB ("Edward by the grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland"). Reverse legend: IHC AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLOR IBAT ("But Jesus passing through their midst went His way"). As the

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(equal to two nobles, or 13s 4d) was widely used during medieval times as a unit of account, many historical records show monetary amounts which are multiples of a noble. As an example of recent "popular culture", in the children's novel '' The Big Six'', the amount of 6s 8d is mentioned as being the standard solicitor's fee.

Shakespeare

The noble is present in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's theatre: *

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...

:Hostess: ''Marry, my lord, there is a nobleman of the court at door would speak with you: he says he comes from your father.'' :Prince Henry: ''Give him as much as will make him a royal man, and send him back again to my mother.'' :The royal refers to the new noble, or royal, worth 10 shillings. *

Henry VI, Part 1 ''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Thomas Nashe and others—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the ...

: :Shepard:'''Tis true, I gave a noble to the priest''
''The morn that I was wedded to her mother.'' *

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

: :Nym: ''I shall have my eight shillings I won of you at betting?'' :Pistol: ''A noble shalt thou have, and present pay;'' *

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

: :Gloucester: ... :''That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble''. * ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'': :Benedick: ''...noble, or not I for an

;...''''Much Ado About Nothing'', II, 3
/ref>

References