The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2024

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

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

1504–9
Diameter: 4.1 cm (1 5/8 in.)
Location: not on view

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.
  • -1969
    Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968. p. 28
  • Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
    English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=1504–9|access-date=22 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.169