Edward III, 1327-1377. AV Noble, Fourth coinage, Treaty period, group b, London, im. cross potent. Struck 1363-1369. King standing in ship with sword and shield, rev. floriate cross with E in centre. Annulet before EDWARD and unbarred A in GRA. Forecastle omits one quatrefoil. Saltire stops. 7.74 g. LAL 2/1; cf. Schneider 87; N.1232; S.1503. Crisply struck from deeply engraved dies. Toned with considerable lustre. Good EF. Rare in this superb state of preservation. NGC MS 67 TOP POP (8411965-002) Ex Motcomb (Part 3, Morton & Eden, 20 November 2024), lot 52. The gold Nobles of the Treaty period represent a high point of fourteenth century English die engraving. The formal renounciation of Edward III’s claim to the French throne under the terms of the Treaty of Bretigny, ratified by Parliament in January 1361, and resulting change to the king’s titles, combined with the need to convert the enormous ransom paid by the French for their king Jean II, captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, necessitated a new coinage. After two years of unsatisfactory experimentation these changes were formalised under an indenture with the Florentine Walter dei Bardi in February 1363. The resulting Noble was, in the words of W. J. Potter, ‘as perfect as technical skill could care to make it.’