Henry VI, King of England and France (1422-1453). Gold Angelot d'or, undated (2.30g). Mint-mark fleur de lis. Saint-Lo mint. Archangel Gabriel over arms of France and England. Rev. Latin cross between fleur de lis and leopard (Fr 300; Dup 444; Elias 22; Spink 8165). In PCGS holder graded AU 58. Very Rare. Value $15,000 - UP
In 1431, the young Henry VI of England was crowned as Henri II of France under the terms of the Treaty of Troyes (1420)-a shameful peace settlement accepted by the reigning French king Charles VI that disinherited his son, the future Charles VII, in favor of the English royal house of Plantagenet. At his coronation, Henry VI became the first and only English monarch to simultaneously wear the crown of England and of France, although subsequent English kings continued to claim rights to the Kingdom of France in speech and heraldry until 1800. Unfortunately for Henry VI, the kinds of crushing victories inflicted by his father on Charles VI began to be meted out on his armies by the resurgent Charles VII while economic and political problems mounted in England. The angelot d'or ("little gold angel") was introduced by Henry VI in 1427, before the turn of the tide in the Hundred Years' War and the loss of English possessions in France. It depicts the Archangel Gabriel behind the arms of France and England and served as a 3/5 fraction of the salut d'or.