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Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)

1504–9
gold
Diameter: 4.1 cm (1 5/8 in.)
Weight: 15.4 g (0.54 oz.)
The Norweb Collection 1969.169
Location: not on view
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

Sovereigns are large, thin gold coins that feature portraits of the respective monarch; here Henry VII is sitting on a throne.

Description

The coinage of Henry VII is the first step from medieval to modern coinage. In 1489 a special commission was issued for the striking of a new gold coin called the sovereign, weighing 240 gs. This is the first use of the name in the English series. These early sovereigns can boast of an artistic achievement never before realized on an English coin, and perhaps never since.
Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)

Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)

1504–9

England, Henry VII, 1485-1509

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