The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2026

Two sides of a gold coin feature an inscription circling an image on both sides (see "Inscriptions" field). On the left, an enthroned, stylized man wears a crown and holds a scepter and orb. On the right, wavy petals suggest a rose surrounding a coat of arms divided into four sections. The upper left and lower right sections feature three stylized fleur-de-lis lilies and the remaining sections three elongated and barely discernible lions.

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

1504–9

England, Henry VII, 1485-1509

gold
Diameter: 4.1 cm (1 5/8 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1969.169
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=16 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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