1 Groat - Henry VI Pinecone-mascle issue, Calais mint

The Pinecone-mascle issue takes its name from the privy marks used to bracket this brief production window — a pinecone and a mascle (voided lozenge) appearing in sequence on coins from both London and Calais. Calais operated as an English mint almost continuously from 1363 through 1440, sustained by the wool staple trade that funneled enormous quantities of bullion through the port under royal monopoly.

Henry VI was ten years old when this groat was struck. The Calais mint's output during his minority was administered under the authority of the Regency Council, with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester holding the Protectorship of England.