English Coinage of the Tudors

[Deeman]

Henry VII halfpenny

The halfpenny had a weight of 6 grains, 0.0125oz troy at 0.925 fine, 15-16mm diameter. The obverse design is a bust facing with a circumscription, commencing with an initial mark, which generally translates to 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king' with some adding reference to England. The reverse design is a long cross pattée or cross fourchée dividing the coin into four quadrants circumscribed by an inscription (no initial mark), identifying the mint, split across the quadrants, with each inner quadrant having a trio of pellets.

The coins of the first issue of Henry VIII are no different from those of the last issue of Henry VII with a small bust and single-arched crown, except for the initial mark. If the initial mark is not discernible, the hair can be used for identification, and any with a Roman 'N' as opposed to a Lombardic 'n' in either obverse or reverse inscriptions belongs in the Henry VIII camp.






1485-87 halfpenny, London, lis upon half rose initial mark.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DЄI GRA RЄX, no stops, open crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn, cross pattée.




1493-95 halfpenny, Canterbury, initial mark blundered (tun). Archbishop John Morton 1486-1500. (Very rare.)
Obverse inscription blundered [hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX An], no stops, open crown, saltires flanking neck.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / CAn / TOR, cross pattée, 'm' at centre of cross.




1493-95 halfpenny, Canterbury, Archbishop Morton's initial mark, unidentifiable but variously described as a profile eye. Archbishop John Morton 1486-1500. (Very rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX, trefoil stops, single arched crown, saltires flanking neck.
Reverse inscription is [CIVI] / TAS / CAn / [TOR], cross pattée, 'm' at centre of cross.




1493-95 halfpenny, Canterbury, lis initial mark. King and Archbishop Morton joint issue.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX, no stops, single arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / CAn / TOR, cross fourchée.




1501-07 penny, York, initial mark blundered (martlet). Archbishop Thomas Savage 1501-07. (Very rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA [RЄX A], trefoil stops, key below small bust to right, single-arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / ЄBO / RACI, cross fourchée.




1505-09 penny, London, pheon initial mark.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX, no stops, small bust with single-arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn, cross fourchée.

[Deeman]

Henry VII farthing

The farthing had a weight of 3 grains, 0.00625oz troy at 0.925 fine, 11mm diameter. The obverse design is a bust facing with a circumscription (no initial mark) which translates to 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king'. The reverse design is a long cross fourchée dividing the coin into four quadrants circumscribed by an inscription, identifying the Tower mint, split across the quadrants, with each inner quadrant having a trio of pellets.




1485-1509 farthing, London. (Extremely rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI [GRA RЄX], no stops, single-arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn, cross fourchée.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII

Henry VIII was born in 1491 and became heir to the throne upon the death of his father in 1509. He inherited a country at peace, with a healthy economy, an orderly monetary system, and a considerable fortune. His elder brother, Arthur, had died in 1502 aged fifteen, and shortly before his death had married Katherine of Aragon, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. His father wished for England to have friendly and productive relations with Spain and, after Arthur's death, he strongly desired that Henry should marry Katherine, mostly for political reasons, as Spain was a great power of the era. Henry married Katherine in 1509 and they had a daughter, Mary, who would later become queen in 1553.

In his youth he was athletic and highly intelligent. He spoke French, Latin and Spanish, was very religious and extremely fond of hunting and tennis. Henry's scholarly interests included writing both books and music, and he was a lavish patron of the arts. As the author of a best-selling book attacking Martin Luther, a German priest who had published a treatise denouncing the Papal system, and hence supporting the Roman Catholic church, Henry was given the title 'Defender of the Faith' by the Pope in 1521.

Unlike his father, Henry loved luxury and kept a costly court and his varied interests led to lack of application to government business and administration which increased the influence of Thomas Wolsey, an Ipswich butcher's son, who became Lord Chancellor in 1515. In the same year Wolsey was appointed Cardinal and given papal legate powers which enabled him to by-pass the Archbishop of Canterbury and 'govern' the Church in England.

Despite his father's efforts to maintain peace with his neighbours, Henry went to war with France and lost at Brest Bay in Apr 1513. Later that year he invaded and took Tournai, which is part of modern-day Belgium. Henry's interest in foreign policy was focused on Western Europe, which was a shifting pattern of alliances centred round the kings of Spain and France, and the Holy Roman Emperor. An example of these shifts was Henry's unsuccessful Anglo-Spanish campaigns against France, ending in peace with France in 1520. Henry also invested in the navy, and increased its size from 5 to 53 ships. All this cost a lot of money forcing Henry to raise taxes, sell lots of land that was once owned by the crown, while taking out loans from countries abroad to return to financial stability.

The second half of Henry's reign was dominated by two issues very important for the later history of England and the monarchy: the succession and the Protestant Reformation, which led to the formation of the Church of England. Katherine had produced only one surviving child, Princess Mary, born in 1516. By the end of the 1520s, Henry's wife was in her forties and he was desperate for a son. England had not so far had a ruling queen, and the dynasty was not secure enough to run the risk of handing the Crown on to a woman, risking disputed succession or domination by a foreign power through marriage.

Henry had anyway fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, the sister of one of his many mistresses, and tried to persuade the Pope to grant him an annulment of his marriage on the grounds that it had never been legal. Royal divorces had happened before: Louis IX had been granted a divorce in 1499, and in 1528 James IV's widow Margaret (Henry's sister) had also been granted one. However, a previous Pope had specifically granted Henry a licence to marry his brother's widow in 1509. In May 1529, Wolsey failed to gain the Pope's agreement to resolve Henry's case in England. All the efforts of Henry and his advisers came to nothing and Wolsey was dismissed and arrested, but died before he could be brought to trial.

Since the attempts to obtain the divorce through pressure on the papacy had failed, Wolsey's eventual successor Thomas Cromwell (Henry's chief adviser from 1532 onwards) turned to Parliament, using its powers and anti-clerical attitude (encouraged by Wolsey's excesses) to decide the issue. The result was a series of Acts cutting back papal power and influence in England and bringing about the English Reformation.

In 1532, Cranmer was promoted to Archbishop of Canterbury and, following the Pope's confirmation of his appointment, Cranmer declared Henry's marriage invalid in May 1533. Anne Boleyn was crowned queen a week later. The Pope responded with excommunication, and Parliamentary legislation enacting Henry's decision to break with the Roman Catholic Church soon followed. An Act in restraint of appeals forbade appeals to Rome, stating that England was an empire, governed by one supreme head and king who possessed 'whole and entire' authority within the realm, and that no judgements or excommunications from Rome were valid. An Act of Submission of the Clergy and an Act of Succession followed, together with an Act of Supremacy (1534) which recognised that the king was 'the only supreme head of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia'. The breach between the king and the Pope forced clergy, office-holders and others to choose their allegiance - the most famous being Sir Thomas More, who was executed for treason in 1535.

The other effect of the English Protestant Reformation was the Dissolution of Monasteries, under which monastic lands and possessions were broken up and sold off. From 1518, Wolsey had closed down some of the small monastic communities to pay for his new foundations (he had colleges built at Oxford and Ipswich). In 1535-6, another 200 smaller monasteries were dissolved by statute, followed by the remaining greater houses in 1538-40; as a result, Crown revenues doubled for a few years.

Henry's second marriage had raised hopes for a male heir. Anne Boleyn, however, produced another daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and failed to produce a male child. Henry got rid of Anne on charges of treason (engineered by Thomas Cromwell and presided over by her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk) which were almost certainly false, and she was beheaded on 19 May 1536. On the next day the king married Jane Seymour. On 12 Oct 1537, Jane bore him a son, who was later to become Edward VI. Jane died 12 days after the birth.

Although Cromwell had proved an effective minister in bringing about the royal divorce and the English Reformation, his position was insecure. The Pilgrimage of Grace, an insurrection in 1536, called for Cromwell's dismissal (the rebels were put down) but it was Henry's fourth, abortive and short-lived marriage to Anne of Cleves that led to Cromwell's downfall. In Jan 1540 the king married and, in July, divorced Anne of Cleves. It was Cromwell's idea to marry the widower king to the German princess and he placed his faith in over-ingenious portrait-painters who exaggerated the bride-to-be's charms. It was a disaster: he could not bear the sight of her (couldn't get an erection, his lawyers claimed). The king felt humiliated, and Cromwell was to blame. Henry was always easy to influence, if one knew how, and became very ready to listen to those who gave him a reason to cut Cromwell down to size. The king was easily persuaded that Cromwell was a heretic and a traitor. He was arrested and executed.

Henry made two more marriages, to Katherine Howard (executed on grounds of adultery in 1542) and Catherine Parr (who survived Henry to die in 1548). None produced any children. Henry made sure that his sole male heir, Edward, was educated by people who believed in Protestantism rather than Catholicism because he wanted the anti-papal nature of his reformation and his dynasty to become more firmly established.

In the final three years of Henry's life, which coincided with the period of his third coinage, the great matters of state centred around dynastic concerns and England's relations with her nearest neighbours Scotland and France. His sixth wife Catherine Parr had helped reconcile Henry with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth who, by an Act of Parliament of 1543, were now in line of succession after Edward. In these final years Henry became obese and suffered with boils, and possibly gout, ailments that resulted from the leg wound he sustained in a jousting accident in 1536. In the spring of 1544 Henry's troops attacked lowland Scotland and shortly after Henry and around 40,000 men invaded France and took the towns of Montreuil and Boulogne. These were small gains, however, and a lack of funds forced the English to make peace in Jun 1546. Henry died at Whitehall Palace on 28 Jan 1547 and was buried a few weeks later in St George's Chapel, Windsor alongside his third wife Jane Seymour, the only spouse to give birth to a surviving male heir.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII coinage

Henry VIII had three distinctive coinage periods. The first period (1509-26) was largely a continuation of the monetary situation that had pertained under his father. The second coinage (1526-44) was more ambitious and the changes instituted in this period better reflected the needs of the crown, under the management of the Chancellor Thomas Wolsey, in making the currency more financially robust against the vagaries of international bullion prices and prevent the leaching of English gold coins overseas. The reformed monetary system included the introduction of new gold coins, the crown and half-crown. Silver coins minted from 1542 featured reduced metal content. The groat and half-groat inscriptions noted Henry as king of Ireland following a 1542 proclamation to that effect. The third coinage from 1544 became known as the Great Debasement. With rapid population growth in the early 16th century straining the money supply, and with his military endeavours in France, Scotland and Ireland producing fiscal pressure, Henry turned to exploitation of his coinage after he had already exhausted the bounteous resources he had acquired from the dissolution of the monasteries. Debasement had been common and quite severe throughout much of mediaeval Europe, especially in France, but it had been essentially non-existent in England for over three centuries.

Gold coinage

The first coinage was similar in all respects to that of Henry VII, consisting of sovereigns, ryals, angels and half-angels, all of standard fineness. From 1522 there was insufficiency of the English coinage, in that several foreign coins both of gold and silver were proclaimed current in England at certain declared values keeping weight, and it was made penal to refuse them. There was the ducat at 4/6, crown soleil at 4/4, gold Carolus (8 escudos) at 6/10, florin at 3/3 and every gold piece of less quantity, also named a florin, at 2/1.

Notwithstanding these proclamations it appears that the amount of gold coin was still insufficient and, on 24 Jul 1526, a writ was issued to Wolsey, then Lord Chancellor, commanding him "to make such alterations in the king's money as might reduce it to an equality with that of foreign countries." This is the commencement of the second coinage period, ending in 1544. The reason of this reduction was that gold was continually transported by the merchants to Flanders and France where it was rated at a higher value. By this proclamation it was ordered that the value of English coins should be raised by 10% making the sovereign 22/-, the ryal 11/-, the angel 7/4 and the half-angel 3/8. A new coin, the 'crown of the rose,' introduced in imitation of the French 'crown of the sun,' was made current for 4/6, to which rating the crown soleil itself was raised. The ducat was raised to 4/8.

These values, however, did not last long as the exportation of coin rather increased than diminished, and to stop this exportation a further increase was proclaimed on 5 Nov 1526, by which revalued the sovereign at 22/6, the ryal at 11/3, the angel at 7/6 and the half angel at 3/9. Besides the angel, another noble was introduced called the George-noble, current for 6/8, with its half in proportion. The 'crown of the rose,' having a value inconvenient for calculation, was replaced by another crown, called the 'crown of the double-rose,' at 5/- with its half in proportion. No alteration was made in the values of the 'crowns of the sun' and others of the same weight and fineness, but all other foreign gold coin was to cease to be current except where the payer and receiver agree. By the same proclamation the Tower pound, consisting of 5400 grains, which had hitherto been used in all Mint calculations, was replaced by the pound troy, of 5760 grains.

The weight and fineness, therefore, of the gold coins hitherto in use, namely the sovereign, ryal, angel and half-angel, remained as they had been before 1526, the only change being that their nominal values were increased. Of the new coins, the George-noble and half-George-noble were to correspond in weight and fineness with the old coins; but the crowns and half-crowns, in order to resemble the French 'crowns of the sun,' were made of 22ct gold (0.916 fine), the first instance of a gold coin of less than standard fineness in England.

In 1544, a new indenture was made with the master of the mint, by which the fineness of the coins was reduced to 23ct (0.958 fine). The new sovereigns were to be current for 20/-, half-sovereigns for 10/-, angels for 8/- with fractions in proportion.

In 1545 the standard of fineness was still further debased to 22ct (0.916 fine), and the weight of the coins lowered, making the weight of a sovereign 192 grains, with the other coins in proportion with the exception of angels and its fractions. In 1546 the metal was still further debased to 20ct (0.833 fine), the lowest state of degradation for gold ever reached in England.

Silver coinage

The penny started off in 1509 weighing 12 grains, with a fineness of 11oz 2dwt (0.925 fine; one troy pound = 12oz; one troy ounce = 20 pennyweight). With the advent of the second coinage, silver coins featured reduced metal content. The weight of a penny dropped to 10 grains, a 17% reduction, but the purity remained the same. The diameter reduced to 15mm. Other silver denominations were similarly affected.

At the start of the second coinage the ecclesiastical mints of Canterbury, York and Durham were significant contributors to the national output of coin. This was particularly the case with the half-groats of Canterbury and York, and the pennies from Durham. However, around 1534 the privilege of minting enjoyed by the church at Canterbury and York was ended, just one strand of the aggressive imposition of the Act of Supremacy and the break of the Church in England with Rome. Durham mint was closed in 1541.

A secret indenture was first ordered in May 1542, and this called for the minting of both gold and silver coins at a reduced size and fineness. Silver was reduced in size by 10% and weight down to 9oz, 0.75 fine, and the testoon was reinstated, a denomination that had been trialled under the reign of Henry VII with little success. Reducing the fineness and weight of the coinage meant that the crown could benefit as the cost of producing coins of any given denomination was reduced due to the reduction in silver content. For the next two years the new testoons together with the other debased coins were minted in secret and stock-piled at the Jewel Tower in the Palace of Westminster whilst production of coins at the 1526 silver standard continued in parallel.

Lack of bullion arriving at the mint meant that by May 1544 the indenture was officially proclaimed and the baser coins including the testoons were finally released to the public. The larger profits made by the coining at a reduced fineness meant that the mint could then offer higher prices to attract bullion, and significant quantities of testoons were produced as a result of the increased supply.

The further need to raise even greater sums of money meant that in Mar 1545 the coinage was further debased, the silver to 6oz, 0.5 fine, and in Apr 1546 fell again to 4oz, 0.333 fine. The York and Canterbury mints were reopened in May and Jun 1545, and in July an additional mint was established at Southwark and another mint was added at the Tower to help with the recoinage. In May 1546 a further mint at Bristol was opened.

Copper was used to make up the rest of a silver coin's weight. The cheaper, less valuable currency was stamped with a portrait of Henry on the obverse and either his coat of arms or the crowned Tudor rose on the reverse. The silver would rub off of Henry's nose during the regular wear and tear showing the copper, leading to Henry earning the nickname of 'Old Coppernose.'

Denominations and mints

Sovereign - London mint first and second coinages; London, Bristol and Southwark mints third coinage.
Half-sovereign - London, Bristol and Southwark mints third coinage.
Ryal - London mint first coinage.
Angel and half-angel - London mint first, second and third coinages.
Quarter-angel - London mint third coinage.
George-noble and half-George-noble - London mint second coinage.
Crown of the rose - London mint second coinage.
Crown of the double-rose - London mint second coinage.
Crown - London, Bristol and Southwark mints third coinage.
Half-crown - London mint second coinage; London, Bristol and Southwark mints third coinage.
Testoon - London, Bristol and Southwark mints third coinage.
Groat - London and Tournai mints first coinage.
Groat - London and York episcopal mints second coinage.
Groat - London, Bristol, Southwark, Canterbury and York mints third coinage.
Half-groat - London, Canterbury, Tournai and York mints first coinage.
Half-groat - London, Canterbury and York mints second coinage.
Half-groat - London, Bristol, Southwark, Canterbury and York mints third coinage.
Penny - London, Canterbury and Durham mints first coinage.
Penny - London, Canterbury, Durham and York mints second coinage.
Penny - London, Bristol, Southwark, Canterbury and York mints third coinage.
Halfpenny - London, Canterbury and York mints first and second coinages.
Halfpenny - London, Bristol, Canterbury and York mints third coinage.
Farthing - London mint first and third coinages; London and Canterbury mints second coinage.

Initial marks

The following initial marks were used:



Issue dates with marks applicable to specific mints identified:

First coinage

1509-26: pheon; castle; castle with H (gold only); portcullis crowned; rose, martlet, pomegranate and cross fitchée (Canterbury); lis (Canterbury and Durham).
1509-14: martlet (York).
1509-23: radiant star (Durham and York).
1513-18: crowned T (Tournai).
1514-26: star (Durham and York); pansy, escallop and voided cross (York).
1523-26: spur rowel (Durham).

Second coinage

1526-44: rose; lis; sunburst (sun breaking through clouds); arrow; pheon; star (Durham).
1526-29: crescent, trefoil and flower of eight petals & circle centre (Durham).
1526-30: plain cross and acorn (York).
1526-32: cross patonce, T and Archbishop Warham's mark (Canterbury).
1529-41: radiant star (Durham).
1530-34: key (York).
1533-34: catherine wheel (Canterbury).

Third coinage

1544-47: lis; pellet in annulet.
1545-47: S, E and Є (Southwark).
1546-47: WS monogram (Bristol).

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage sovereign

The sovereign had a value of 20/- at a weight of 240 grains, 0.5oz troy at 0.995 fine (23.875ct). The obverse of the sovereign depicts the king with imperial crown, seated facing on a high-back throne with decorative side pillars and patterned back, wearing his coronation gown and holding orb and sceptre, the Tudor symbol of portcullis with chains at king's feet, tressure of trefoils on inner circle. The circumscription translates to 'Henry by the Grace of God, king of England and France, Lord of Ireland'. The letters 'ЄT', Latin for 'and', are used. The reverse design features a quartered shield of the Royal Arms within a double rose, symbolising the union of York and Lancaster after the Wars of the Roses. The Tudor rose is surrounded by a ten-arched double tressure divided into five two-crescent sections by the leaves of the emblem with lion passant guardant and lis alternating in each crescent pair. The circumscription reads JESUS AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT or abbreviation thereof translating to 'But Jesus passing through their midst went His way', Luke 4:30.




1509-26 sovereign, London, crowned portcullis initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRICVS DЄI GRACIA RЄX / AnGLIЄ ЄT FRAnC' DnS' hIB', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is IhЄSVS AVTЄM TRAnSIЄnS PЄR MЄDIVM ILLORVM IBAT, saltire stops, saltires in tressure spandrels.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage ryal

The ryal had a value of 10/- at a weight of 120 grains, 0.25oz troy at 0.995 fine. The obverse depicts the king crowned, standing facing in a ship, holding a sword and quartered shield, the mast to his right, at right angles to which stretches a yard-arm immediately over his head, three ropes from it to stern, one from mast to prow. A bowsprit extends from the prow to the edge of the coin. The upper part of the side of the ship is ornamented with lions and lis, on the centre of it is a rose, at the stern a banner with the letter 'h'. The circumscription is (no initial mark) HENRIC VIII DI GRA REX ANGL z FRANC DNS I B. The reverse is the same as Edward IV's ryals, depicting a central rose within a sunburst upon a floriated cross with lis terminals within a tressure of eight arches, fleurs in spandrels, and in each angle of the cross, a lion passant guardant, with crown above. The circumscription is IHC AVT TRANSIENS PER MEDIVM ILLORVM IBAT with a crowned portcullis initial mark.


The ryal is exceedingly rare and no image is available. The designs are depicted on the Edward IV equivalent below.



Henry VIII did not have the same objection to tracing his title to the throne through his mother, daughter of Edward IV, as Henry VII had to being thought to depend on his wife for a title, and consequently his son placed the badge of Edward IV, the rose and sun, upon his coins which his father would not do.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage angel

The angel had a value of 6/8 at a weight of 80 grains, 0.167oz troy at 0.995 fine. The obverse of the angel depicts archangel St. Michael, haloed and winged, standing with both feet on the dragon and piercing it through the mouth with a spear, the other end of which ends in a cross-crosslet which normally marks the termination of the circumscription which translates to 'Henry VIII by the Grace of God, king of England and France.' The reverse design is an English galley with two ropes to the mast from the stern, one from the prow and with 'h' and a rose set below the main topmast, the ship surmounted by square-topped shield bearing the King's arms, all within a circumscription of PER CRUCEM TUAM SALVA NOS CHRISTE REDEMPTOR or abbreviation thereof translating to 'By Thy cross save us, O Christ Redeemer'.




1509-26 angel, London, castle initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX AGL' z FRA', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is PЄR CRVCЄ TVA' SALVA nOS XPC' RЄD', saltire stops.




1509-26 angel, London, portcullis crowned initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX AGL' z FR / A', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is PЄR CRVCЄ TVA' SALVA nOS XPC' RЄDЄ', saltire stops.




1509-26 angel, London, pheon initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX AGL' z FR', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is PЄR CRVCЄ TVA' SALVA nOS XPC' RЄD', saltire stops.




1509-26 angel, London, castle with H initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX AGL' z FR', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is PЄR CRVCЄ TVA' SALVA nOS XPC' RЄDЄ', saltire stops.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage half-angel

The half-angel had a value of 3/4 at a weight of 40 grains, 0.0833oz troy at 0.995 fine. The obverse and reverse designs are the same as those of the angel. The obverse circumscription translates to 'Henry VIII by the Grace of God, king of England', sometimes without VIII. The reverse circumscription is O CRUX AVE SPES UNICA translating to 'Hail thou cross my only hope'.




1509-26 half-angel, London, castle initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX A / L, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is O CRVX AVE SPЄS VnICA, saltire stops.




1509-26 half-angel, London, castle initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI' GRA' RЄX AGL z, no VIII, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is O CRVX AVE SPЄS VnICA, saltire stops.




1509-26 half-angel, London, portcullis crowned initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA' RЄX AGL, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is O CRVX AVE SPЄS VnICA, saltire stops.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage groat

The groat had a weight of 48 grains, 0.1oz troy at 0.925 fine, 26-27mm diameter. These groats feature the portrait of his father, Henry VII. The obverse depicts a profile crowned bust facing right, the crown having a single jewelled arch, within a circumscription commencing with an initial mark which translates to 'Henry VIII by the Grace of God, king of England and France.' The reverse design is a long cross fourchée surmounted by a square-topped shield bearing the King's arms, within a circumscription commencing with an initial mark, divided across the quadrants of the cross, of POSUI DEUM ADJUTOREM MEUM or abbreviation thereof which translates to 'I have made God my helper' from Psalms 54.4.




1509-26 groat, London, portcullis crowned initial mark both sides, obverse overstruck on crowned T (Tournai).
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL' z FRA', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is POSVI / DЄVm A / DIVTOR / Є' mЄV, saltire stops.




1509-26 groat, London, portcullis crowned initial mark both sides, obverse overstruck on crowned T (Tournai).
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL' z FR', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is POSVI / DЄVm A / DIVTOR / Є' mЄV', saltire stops, lis in forks of cross. (Extremely rare.)




1509-26 groat, London, castle crowned initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL' z FR', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is POSVI / DЄVm A / DIVTOR / Є' mЄV', saltire stops.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage Tournai groat

In 1513, the then 22-year-old Henry VIII crossed the Channel with a large English army and seized the rich city of Tournai, a French held enclave surrounded by Habsburg lands. Henry was a member of the anti-French Holy League, along with Ferdinand II of Spain, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and the Pope amongst others. The city remained in English hands until 1519 when it was handed back to the French. The city was even represented at Parliament in Westminster, with Jean Le Sellier being elected as MP for the Tournai constituency in Dec 1513.

Henry issued a special groat and half-groat that was struck at the mint of Tournai, in modern Belgium, in 1513-18, though the dies were made at the Tower of London. The coins were minted with captured French silver, of which few survive. The obverse, like the rest of Henry's early silver coinage features a beak-nosed portrait of his father, circumscribed by the proclamation 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king of France and England,' rather than the more typical 'England and France.' The reverse shows the royal arms, quartered by a long cross fourchée, with a circumscription of 'City of Tournai.'




1513-18 groat (gros à la tête), Tournai, crowned T initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI' GRA RЄX FRAnC' z AGLIЄ, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / TORn / ACЄn', saltire stops after TAS and before TORn.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage half-groat

The half-groat had a weight of 24 grains, 0.05oz troy at 0.925 fine, 22-23mm diameter. As with the groat, the half-groat features the profile portrait of his father and the same reverse design. The obverse inscription differs in that it does not include the French title. There are two reverse inscriptions, either POSUI DEUM ADJUTOREM MEUM or abbreviation thereof, and the other, confined to some Canterbury or York issues, that identifies the mint.




1509-26 half-groat, London, portcullis crowned initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL' z, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is POSVI / DЄV' A / DIVTOR / Є' mЄV', saltire stops.




1509-26 half-groat, Canterbury, pomegranate initial mark both sides. Archbishop William Warham 1503-32.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI GRA RЄX AGL' saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / CAn / TOR, 'W-A' flanking shield.




1514-23 half-groat, York, radiant star initial mark both sides. Archbishop Thomas Wolsey 1514-30. (Extremely rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL' z, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is POSVI / DЄV' A / DIVTO / Є' mЄV', saltire stops, keys and cardinal's hat below shield.




1514-26 half-groat, York, (voided) cross initial mark both sides. Archbishop Thomas Wolsey 1514-30.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC VIII DI' GRA RЄX AGL', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / ЄBO / RACI, saltire stops, 'T-W' flanking shield, keys and cardinal's hat below shield.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage penny

The penny had a weight of 12 grains, 0.025oz troy at 0.925 fine, 17-19mm diameter. The design follows the sovereign penny of Henry VII. The obverse design depicts the king, crowned, seated facing on a throne, wearing his coronation gown and holding orb and sceptre, within a circumscription, commencing with an initial mark, translating to 'Henry by the Grace of God, king of England' or abbreviation thereof. The reverse design features a quartered shield of the Royal Arms upon a long cross fourchée dividing the coin into four quadrants with a circumscription, split across the quadrants identifying the mint.




1509-26 penny, London, portcullis crowned initial mark on obverse.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AG', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn, saltire stops.




1509-26 penny, London, castle initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AGL saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn, saltire stops.




1509-26 penny, Canterbury, pomegranate initial mark on obverse. Archbishop William Warham 1503-32.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX An' saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / CAn / TOR, 'W-A' flanking shield.




1509-23 penny, Durham, lis initial mark both sides. Bishop Thomas Ruthall 1509-23.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AGL' saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / DVR / hAm, 'T-D' flanking shield.




1509-23 penny, Durham, lis initial mark both sides. Bishop Thomas Ruthall 1509-23.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AGL' z saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / DVR / hAm, saltire stops, 'T-D' above shield.




1523-26 penny, Durham, spur rowel initial mark both sides. Bishop Thomas Wolsey 1523-29. (Very rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AGL' z saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / DVR / hAm, saltire stops, mitre below shield, 'D-W' flanking shield.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage halfpenny

The halfpenny had a weight of 6 grains, 0.0125oz troy at 0.925 fine, 15-16mm diameter. The issue basically followed that of his father's, with initial mark changes. The obverse design is a bust facing with a circumscription, commencing with an initial mark, which generally translates to 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king of England'. The reverse design is a long cross fourchée dividing the coin into four quadrants circumscribed by an inscription, identifying the Tower mint, split across the quadrants, with each inner quadrant having a trio of pellets.




1509-26 halfpenny, London, portcullis initial mark.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX AGL, saltire stops, single-arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn.




1509-26 halfpenny, Canterbury, pomegranate initial mark. Archbishop William Warham 1503-32.
Obverse inscription is [hЄnRIC] DI GRA RЄX AGL, pellet stops, single-arched crown, 'W-A' flanking neck.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / CAn / TOR.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII first coinage farthing

The farthing had a weight of 3 grains, 0.00625oz troy at 0.925 fine, 11mm diameter. There were two issues, the first being 'transitional' following that of his father's, with initial mark changes. The obverse design is a bust facing with a circumscription, commencing with an initial mark, which generally translates to 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king of England'. The reverse design is a long cross fourchée dividing the coin into four quadrants circumscribed by an inscription, identifying the mint, split across the quadrants, with each inner quadrant having a trio of pellets.

In 1523 an Act of Parliament was passed that included the stipulation that farthings should be of a different style to avoid confusion with halfpennies. The obverse design is a portcullis with a circumscription, commencing with a portcullis initial mark, translating to 'Henry, by the Grace of God, king'. The reverse design is a long cross fourchée surmounted by a central rose dividing the coin into four quadrants circumscribed by an inscription, identifying the Tower mint, split across the quadrants.




1509-23 transitional farthing, London, portcullis initial mark. (Extremely rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC [DI GRA RЄX] A, no stops, single-arched crown.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn.




1523-26 rose farthing, London, portcullis initial mark. (Extremely rare.)
Obverse inscription is hЄnRIC DI GRA RЄX, saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is CIVI / TAS / LOn / DOn.

[Deeman]

Henry VIII second coinage sovereign

The sovereign had a value of 22/-, revalued in 1526 to 22/6, at a weight of 240 grains, 0.5oz troy at 0.995 fine (23.875ct). The obverse of the sovereign depicts the king with imperial crown, seated facing on a high-back throne with decorative side pillars and patterned back, wearing his coronation gown and holding orb and sceptre, the Tudor symbol of portcullis with chains at king's feet, tressure of trefoils on inner circle. The circumscription translates to 'Henry by the Grace of God, king of England and France, Lord of Ireland'. The letters 'ЄT', Latin for 'and', are used. The reverse design features a quartered shield of the Royal Arms within a double rose, symbolising the union of York and Lancaster after the Wars of the Roses. The Tudor rose is surrounded by a ten-arched double tressure divided into five two-crescent sections by the leaves of the emblem with lion passant guardant and lis alternating in each crescent pair. The circumscription reads JESUS AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT or abbreviation thereof translating to 'But Jesus passing through their midst went His way', Luke 4:30.




1526-44 sovereign, London, lis initial mark on obverse, arrow on reverse.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRICVS DЄI GRACIA RЄX / AnGLIЄ ЄT FRAnC' DnS' hIB', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is IhЄSVS AVTЄM TRAnSIЄnS PЄR MЄDIVM ILLORVM IBAT, saltire stops.




1526-44 sovereign, London, lis initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRICVS DЄI GRACIA RЄX / AnGLIЄ ЄT FRAnC' DnS' hIB', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is IhЄSVS AVTЄM TRAnSIЄnS PЄR MЄDIVM ILLORVM IBAT, saltire stops, saltires in spandrels.




1526-44 sovereign, London, sunburst (sun breaking through clouds) initial mark both sides.
Obverse inscription is hЄnRICVS DЄI GRACIA RЄX / AnGLIЄ ЄT FRAnC' DnS' hIB', saltire stops.
Reverse inscription is IhЄSVS AVTЄM TRAnSIЄnS PЄR MЄDIVM ILLORVM IBAT, saltire stops, saltires in spandrels.