A coin sold in the Dix Noonan Webb (20% buyer’s premium) auction on March 15 is a poignant reminder of the mysterious death of the Princes in the Tower.
The rare gold Angel dates from the tragically brief reign of Edward V, the shortest-lived male monarch in English history. It was bought by a UK private collector bidding in the room for £42,000 against an estimate of £12,000-15,000. It was found in a Dorset field by a metal detectorist in August last year.
Research into the Angel – with its image of the Archangel Saint Michael slaying a dragon – revealed that it was minted during the reign of the 12-year-old who was king for just 86 days in 1483. Edward, one of only four English monarchs never to have been crowned, and his younger brother vanished into a dungeon in the Tower of London.