1/2 Noble - Richard II Calais mint, type III

Richard II's reign was administratively turbulent for English gold coinage, with the Calais mint functioning as the primary outlet for wool-staple revenues — merchants paying export duties in bullion that was coined on the spot. The Calais operation gave the Crown direct control over continental trade flows in a way the domestic mints could not replicate.

North 1316 distinguishes this as a Type III issue, differentiated from earlier types by specific annulet and lis arrangements in the mm and stops. Die-linking studies by Schneider placed Calais output for this reign considerably below London's, making Calais-mint halves noticeably harder to source than their face frequency suggests.