Henry V (1413-22)
by Brian Holland

King Henry the 5th was a boy of 12 when his father seized the crown of England and founded the royal House of Lancaster.   Henry was crowned King at age 25 and almost immediately began making preparations to revive the old claim of English monarchs to the throne of France.   In August 1415, Henry's army crossed the channel and invaded France.   Greatly outnumbered and with his army exhaused and disease ridden, Henry prepared to take on the flower of French knighthood near Agincourt on 25 October 1415.   On what is now known as St Crispin's Day, the overconfident French knights fell victim to the power of legendary English longbowmen.    Thanks in no small part to William Shakespeare, the English triumph passed into history and forever made a national hero of Henry V.

The coin pictured below is an English Gold Noble of Henry V, believed by many to be the most beautiful of all medieval coinage.   The Noble was valued at 80 pence and like all coins of Henry V, is rare today.  The obverse depicts the King in a ship at sea holding a raised sword and shield.  There is a cruciform design with the letter H on the reverse.