The Angel was an English gold coin introduced by King Edward IV in 1465. It was patterned after the French angelot or ange, which had been issued since 1340. The name derived from its representation of the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon. As it was considered a new issue of the noble, it was also called the angel-noble. The angel varied in value from 6 shillings 8 pence (80 pence) to 11 shillings (132 pence) between Edward's reign and the time of King James I. Under King Charles I, it was last coined in 1642, and was replaced in 1663 by the machine-made Guinea denomination.
Being hand-struck, Angle coins vary in diameter and wight; the average dimension is 29 mm, and the average wight is around 5.12 grams. The fineness of the gold was normally 0.995, but this varied and during the reigns of some monarchs was lower.
In 1472, a half-angel was also introduced, with a similar design and weighing 40 grains (2.6 grams) with a diameter of 20 to 21 millimetres. |
