1 Noble - Edward III 3rd coinage, 3rd period

The noble was introduced by Edward III in 1344, replacing the failed florin coinage — a short-lived experiment that lasted barely six months before being withdrawn due to public rejection of its value ratio. The third coinage, beginning around 1346, refined the weight standard and established the noble's reputation as the dominant English gold coin for the following century. This particular period straddles the Black Death, which reached England in 1348 and killed roughly a third of the population, profoundly disrupting mint output at both London and Calais.

Spink 1481 is distinguished from adjacent periods primarily by its pre-treaty status — before the monetary adjustments that followed the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360.