Few English coins carry a legacy as rich as the gold Angel.
Celebrated for their dramatic imagery, their association with royal ritual, and their lasting cultural influence - from pub names to Shakespeare - Angels occupy a unique place in British numismatic history.
Today, these hammered coins are coveted by collectors and, from 2026, their enduring symbolism inspires a new collection of UK coins from The Royal Mint.
A Brief History Of Gold Angels
'They have in England / A coin that bears the figure of an angel / Stamped in gold …’
— The Merchant of Venice, Act 2, Scene 7
Angels are historic English hammered gold coins, first struck in 1465 during the first reign of King Edward IV. During Edward's second reign, a Half Angel (also known as an Angelet) was also struck.
Angels were introduced in response to a shortage of gold coins in England. With gold prices rising during the middle of the 15th century, Nobles and Ryals were being exported to the continent for a profit.
The new, smaller gold coins were initially valued at 6 Shillings and 8 Pence, and took their name from the distinctive image of the Archangel Michael that appears on their obverse. The winged and haloed St Michael is shown driving his spear down into the mouth of satan, in the form of a dragon. This dramatic design reflects a scene from Revelations and was initially engraved by or under the direction of Sir Edmund Shaa (or Shaw), goldsmith and Engraver to the Royal Mint in the 1460s and 1470s.
The reverse of gold Angels shows the image of a ship at sea with a cross-shaped masthead and a shield bearing the royal arms in front. A similar nautical design had been used on Nobles. On early issues, this motif was accompanied by the Latin inscription 'PER CRUCE[M] TUA[M] SALVA NOS CHRISTE REDE[MPTOR]', which translates as 'By thy cross save us, Christ, the Redeemer'.
Henry VIII gold Angel, first coinage (1509-1526), castle mintmark. Credit: RWB Auctions.
The same general design was used for Angels through the last years of the Wars of the Roses and into the reign of the House of Tudor. The distinctly Catholic imagery survived the English Reformation, and can be seen on the final issue, minted on the eve of the English Civil War. These Angels, struck in the name of King Charles I, feature an ironic reverse legend that reads 'AMOR POPULI PRAESIDIUM REGIS' ('The love of the people is the protection of the king').
The legacy of these coins is evidenced by the number of English pubs named The Angel. The Angel Inn, in Islington, which gave its name to the London Underground station, is among these. The Angel's influence also resonates in later coinage. Benedetto Pistrucci's image of Saint George, used on milled gold Sovereigns, shares a martial theme with the Angel, both motifs representing royal authority, divinely ordained.
Touching For The King's Evil
This idea of god-given power is born out in the role gold Angels play in superstitions associated with the royal touch.
In medieval England and France, there was a belief that, via a ceremonial laying on of hands, a monarch could cure various diseases, most notably, the 'king's evil'. This was likely a bacterial infection of the lymph nodes, known historically as scrofula; however, the term was also applied to other types of swellings and skin complaints. Scrofula was rarely fatal and often cleared up on its own, lending credence to this miraculous aspect of kingship.
The tradition of the royal touch predates Angels, but from the reign of Edward IV, touching ceremonies involved the gifting of these gold coins to the diseased, who were instructed to wear them around their neck as an amulet. The practice was codified under King Henry VII, seeking to legitimise his new Tudor dynasty, and reached its zenith under the Stuarts.
While King James I and his son, Charles I, disliked the idea, Angels touched by the executed king later gained the status of relics among Royalists who viewed him as a martyr. These coins were said to have the power to cure at second-hand, beyond the person who had been directly touched. This belief was co-opted by the restored King Charles II, who touched tens of thousands of people during his reign, giving them touch pieces which featured similar imagery to Angels.
Charles II, touching for the king's evil - the clergyman to the king's right holds a coin attached to a ribbon. Credit: Wellcome Collection (CC BY 4.0).
The ritual of the royal touch largely faded after the Glorious Revolution, which signalled the decline of belief in the divine right of kings. Even so, the ceremony saw a brief revival under Queen Anne and continued into the 1780s through the Jacobite pretenders, who maintained the tradition as part of their claim to the throne. These late touch pieces were struck in silver, reflecting the poverty of the Jacobite court in exile.
'How he solicits heaven, / Himself best knows; but strangely-visited people, / All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, / The mere despair of surgery, he cures, / Hanging a golden stamp about their necks, / Put on with holy prayers.'
— Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3
Collecting British Gold Angels
Historic Angels are sought after by collectors of gold hammered coins for their scarcity, their striking design and their association with a fascinating royal ceremony. High-grade examples typically sell for thousands, with rare pieces achieving five and six-digit figures.
Several modern coins are referred to as Angels, including the Manx Angel: a series of bullion and proof coins, struck in gold and silver by the Pobjoy Mint and later the Tower Mint. These Isle of Man Angels also feature the image of the Archangel Michael.
The Angel 2026 coins from The Royal Mint feature a historically inspired reverse design by Sandra Deiana.
In December 2026, The Royal Mint issued its first Angels in centuries. While coins in the Great Engravers and British Monarchs series have seen modern proof coins issued with remastered historic designs, the 2026 Angel features a new interpretation of the classic motif. Sandra Deiana's reverse design for this exclusive range is struck in high-relief for a pronounced, three-dimensional appearance. These official UK legal tender coins are available in a range of finishes.
*Limited Edition Presentation
Further Reading
Barlow, Frank. 'The King's Evil'. The English Historical Review 95, no. 374 (1980): 3–27.
Birkwood, Katie. 'Touching For 'The King's Evil': A Short History'. Royal College Of Physicians. 10 May 2019.
Young, Francis. 'The Gold Angel: Legendary Coin, Enduring Amulet'. 21 January 2016.
Frequently Asked Questions
When they were first struck in 1465, gold Angels were worth 6 Shillings and 6 Pence. Their value was increased over the centuries, in line with rising gold prices, so that by the reign of King James I these coins were worth 11 Shillings, decreasing to 10 Shillings for their final issue.
Gold Angels are English hammered gold coins, struck from 1465 to 1642. These coins take their name from the image of the Archangel Michael that appears on their reverse. Modern mints have sought to revive the historic Angel, including a 2026 range from The Royal Mint.
Gold Angel coins feature the image of Saint Michael the Archangel on one side and the image of a ship on the other. St Michael is shown battling satan in the form of a dragon on all historic Angel coins. It is this design that gives these English hammered coins their name.
Historians and medical specialists think 'king's evil' was likely mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis, known historically as scrofula, a disease that involves a swelling of the lymph nodes. The term was probably applied to other swellings and skin conditions as well.
'Touching for the King's Evil' was a medieval and early modern practice in England and France where monarchs would lay their hands on people suffering from scrofula and other swellings and skin diseases in the belief their divine touch could miraculously cure these illnesses.
In Acts 4 of Macbeth, the 'king's evil' is a disease also known as scrofula: a form of tuberculosis that involves the lymph nodes. English monarchs, including King Edward in Macbeth, were said to be able to miraculously cure scrofula with their royal touch.
Genuine historic gold Angels can be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds. Their value depends on their condition (grade) and type, best identified by a coin specialist. Manx Angels are also valuable coins with gold proof editions commanding the highest prices.
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