The angel was an Englishgold coin introduced by Edward IV in 1465. It was patterned after the Frenchangelot 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. In 1472, the half-angel was introduced with a similar design weighing 40 grains with a diameter of 20 to 21 millimeters.
Design
Reverse: Depicts a ship with arms and rays of sun at the masthead. Legend:, meaning "By Thy cross save us, Christ Redeemer."
Value
The angel varied in value from 6 shillings 8 penceto 11 shillings between Edward's reign and the time of James I. Under Charles I, it was last coined in 1642.
In 1526 during the reign of Henry VIII, it increased to seven shillings and six pence or 90 pence.
In 1544, it increased again to eight shillings or 96 pence.
In 1550 during the reign of Edward VI it increased to ten shillings or 120 pence or £.
In 1612 during the reign of James I it increased to eleven shillings or 132 pence.
In 1619 it decreased to ten shillings and at that point in time it weighed 70 grains.
In 1663, Charles IIreplaced the existing coinage with entirely new designs struck by machine. The standard goldcoin then became the Guinea.
Social impact
The angel was such an iconic coin that many English pubs were named after it. The Angel Inn in Islington was one of these. The angel was traditionally given to sufferers of the disease known as "king's evil", in a mediaeval ceremony intended to heal them with the "royal touch". After it was no longer minted, medals with the same device were given instead. The 1610 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow was named after the coins. M'Crie writes: "The bribery practised at this Assembly was shamefully notorious. Golden coins, called angels, were so plentifully distributed among the ministers, that it was called, by way of derision, the angelical Assembly."
