Ryal: Edward IV in Ship with a Shield of Arms and Rose (obverse); Sun with Fleurs (reverse) (1464/5–70): Art, History and Details

Ryal: Edward IV in Ship with a Shield of Arms and Rose (obverse); Sun with Fleurs (reverse) (1464/5–70) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The first and second reigns of Edward IV, who was restored to the throne, were a result of the dynastic civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster, usually known as the Wars of the Roses. The fighting flared up sporadically from 1455 to 1485. With the accession of Edward IV the gold supply was almost nil and after four years the output had been reduced to 300 ibs. Something had to be done without disturbing the country, so a new coin was issued, to be known as the Ryal or Rose Noble. This coin was to have a value of ten shillings. However the gold noble had become the standard professional fee (6s 8d), so a new gold coin known as the angel was issued, with a value of 6 shillings and 8 pence. It became the famous coin that served Tudor and Stuart sovereigns as their presentation piece at the ceremony of touching for the king's evil. The angel pictured St. George slaying the dragon, some say as an allegory of the overthrow of the house of Lancaster by that of York. This is the last of the Noble-type coins. Though the reigns changed over the years, the type of coin varied little in design. During the reign, branch mints were set up in York, Bristol, Coventry, and Norwich.

Object facts

• Title: Ryal: Edward IV in Ship with a Shield of Arms and Rose (obverse); Sun with Fleurs (reverse)
• Date: 1464/5–70
• Culture: England, Edward IV (first reign 1461-1470, second reign 1471-1483)
• Type: Coins
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Numismatics
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1969.166

A detail from the museum

Edward IV (1442–1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461, to October 3, 1470, and then again from April 11, 1471, until his death in 1483.

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.