1 Angel - Charles I Pattern

Charles I came to the throne in March 1625, and the Angel — a medieval denomination that had survived largely unchanged for over a century and a half — was already an anachronism. This piece is a pattern, meaning it was produced for approval rather than circulation, as the new reign required fresh coinage authorizations. The Angel itself would be formally abolished as a circulating denomination shortly afterward, surviving only in the highly specific ceremonial role of the Maundy-adjacent "touch pieces" distributed to sufferers of scrofula, whom monarchs were believed to heal.

The 0.995 fineness is notably purer than earlier Angels, which typically ran at 0.995 only in later Tudor issues.