AR Penny

Struck: 1413-1422
Mint: York
Size: 17.2mm
Weight: 0.85g
Die Axis: 90°
Grade: VF
Ref: Sp# 1787

Obv: +HЄN]RIC RЄX ΛNGLIЄ, Crowned facing bust of King Henry V, mullet to left, annulet to right.
Rev: CIVI TΛS x ЄBO RACI, Long cross pattée with quatrefoil at center, trefoils in quarters.
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Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against France made England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. Immortalised in Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior kings of medieval England.

During the reign of his father Henry IV, Henry gained military experience fighting the Welsh during the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr and against the powerful aristocratic Percy family of Northumberland at the Battle of Shrewsbury. Henry acquired an increasing role in England's government due to the king's declining health, but disagreements between father and son led to political conflict between the two. After his father's death in 1413, Henry assumed control of the country and asserted the pending English claim to the French throne.

In 1415, Henry embarked on a campaign against France in the ongoing Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). His military successes culminated in the famous Battle of Agincourt on October 25th, 1415. Henry’s army was sick, starving, and vastly outnumbered but he won a staggering victory and came close to conquering all of France. Taking advantage of political divisions within France, he conquered large portions of the kingdom, resulting in Normandy's occupation by the English for the first time since 1345–1360. After months of negotiation with Charles VI of France, the Treaty of Troyes (1420) recognized Henry V as regent and heir apparent to the French throne, and he was subsequently married to Charles's daughter, Catherine of Valois. Everything seemed to point to the formation of a union between the kingdoms. However, he died two years later and was succeeded by his only child, the infant Henry VI.