Six Bergerac Issues of Henry of Lancaster

Triton XVIII, Lot: 1821. Estimate $2500. Sold for $2750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANGLO-GALLIC. Henry of Lancaster. As Earl of Lancaster, 1347-1351. BI Gros tournois à la couronne (24.5mm, 2.54 g, 9h). Bergerac mint. hЄn’ COm LΛ nCE / [BnDICTV ·] SI[T · n O]m [E · DnI · nRI · DE I · IhV · XPI] (annulet stops), long cross pattée; secret marks: lis on serif of L, small B between A and n / + DnS : BRGGΛRΛCII (double annulet stop), châtel tournois enclosing crown; all within tressure of twelve arches containing leaves. SCBC 8103; Elias 127 var. (legend); Elias, Bergerac 2.1.1-7 var. (same); Duplessy, Féodales 994; Elias Collection 223-5 var. (same); Boudeau –; Poey d'Avant 2700 var. (same). VF, toned, ragged edges. The first A in the mint name is engraved over a G. Extremely rare.

From the Michael Joffre Collection.

On 24 August 1345, the key strategic town of Bergerac fell to English forces led by Henry of Lancaster, who had recently been appointed Captain-General and Lieutenant in Aquitaine by Edward III. Henry, a cousin of the King, was one of England's most successful military commanders in the early stages of the Hundred Years War. In 1347, he was rewarded by Edward III with the privilege of striking coins in Bergerac in his own name and enjoying the profit thereof.