Noble: Richard II Standing on Ship with Shield of Arms (obverse); Ornamental Cross with Lis Terminals (reverse) (1377–1399): Art, History and Details

Noble: Richard II Standing on Ship with Shield of Arms (obverse); Ornamental Cross with Lis Terminals (reverse) (1377–1399) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This type of coin is very similar to that of the last right but a flag or pennant has appeared on the stern-castle of the ship. This signifies that the piece was struck in the Calais mint, then, and for 180 years to come, an English possession. There are three other points of interest in the Nobles of this period. First some of the early pieces of the reign were struck from the dies of the previous king, Edward III. Secondly, a symbol, such as a lion, trefoil or crescent was sometimes placed on the ship's rudder. Fours such marks were used, their purpose being to distinguish different issues. Finally, four styles of lettering were used.

Object facts

• Title: Noble: Richard II Standing on Ship with Shield of Arms (obverse); Ornamental Cross with Lis Terminals (reverse)
• Date: 1377–1399
• Culture: England, Richard II, 1377-1399
• Type: Coins
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 3.4 cm (1 5/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Numismatics
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1969.162

A detail from the museum

Richard II was king of England from 1377 until 1399 and was the subject of a play by William Shakespeare.

Collection credit

The Norweb Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.