Page:Craik History of British Commerce Vol 1.djvu/199

Rh regained his father's favour by appearing before him, and offering the king his dagger, that he might, if he pleased, take his life on the spot. On this occasion, it seems, "he was appareled in a gown of blue satin, full of small eylet-holes, at every hole the needle hanging by a silk thread with which it was sewed: about his arm he ware a hound's collar set full of S S of gold, and the tirets likewise being of the same metal." But what particular part in the stratagem this fantastic dress was intended to play does not appear. The story looks at the best as if we had got only the half of it; but it is probably altogether an invention of a later age, and, instead of having been the origin of the eylet-holes on the coin, it is most likely itself the offspring of that device. Henry V. also struck various French coins, among which were muttons (so called from bearing the impression of a lamb, or Agnus Dei) of gold, and groats, half groats, quarter groats, mancois, and petit deniers, of silver. After the treaty of Troyes he coined others called saluts, demi-saluts, blancs, &c., in the legend of which he took the title of Hæres Franciæ, or Heir of France.

The English coins of Henry VI. are supposed to be distinguished from his father's by the arched crown called the imperial, surmounted with the orb and cross. He also issued, as King of France, saluts, angelots, franks, and nobles of gold, and groats, blanks, deniers, &c., of silver.

The English money was again depreciated by Edward IV., who, in 1464, ordered the Tower pound of silver to be coined into 37s. 6d. by tale, that is, into 450 pennies. The penny now, therefore, contained only 12 grains of silver, and its value was little more than 1½d. of our present money; that of the shilling was about 1s. 6d.; and that of the nominal pound about 30s. Edward IV., in 1466, also struck two new gold coins, called angels and angelots, from the figure of an angel on the reverse. These were intended as substitutes for the noble and the half noble, and were, like them, ordered to pass