angel goldn.
/ˈeɪn(d)ʒ(ə)l ɡəʊld/, U.S. /ˈeɪndʒəl ˌɡoʊld/ Chiefly historical after 17th cent.
High-quality gold of the sort used to mint the coin known as the angel, varying in fineness over time from about 23.8 to 22 carats. Cf. angel n. 10.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > precious metal > [noun] > gold > other types of gold
angel gold1526
rux1586
flour-gold1869
quickgold1877
sponge-gold1882
1526 in State Papers Henry VIII (P.R.O.: SP 1/38) f. 265 The Mynte Maister is Charged wth lb. weight of angell golde to be Coigned, Valued at xxiijti Carottes iij graynes d.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xx. f. 129 Comparing that golden age,..to these our worsse than copper days,..we shall finde the match so like, as darke and light, durt and Angell golde.
1790 W. Herbert Ames' Typogr. Antiq. (rev. ed.) III. 1762 An ounce of Angel gold at that time was worth 3l. French Crown gold, 55s. and Sovereign gold, 50s.
1833 Penny Cycl. I. 14/1 In the 43rd year of her reign..[Elizabeth I] contracted not only for the coining of angels, and their usual divisions, but for pieces of an angel and a half and three angels, of the finest angel gold.
2000 Econ. Hist. Rev. 53 65 Currently [in 1560]..20s. of angel gold contained 159.168 grains of fine gold.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1526