Henry VIII Silver Sovereign Penny Durham Tunstall 1530

Description

Heading: Henry VIII silver sovereign penny – Durham 1530

Denomination: Silver penny ‘sovereign type’

Period: Tudor

Date: 1530

Origin: Durham mint under Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham

Condition: AVF

Obverse: Henry seated on throne, facing, holding orb and sceptre, legend around, radiant star mint mark, h D G ROSA SINE SPINA

Reverse: Long cross over quartered shield of arms, C to left and D to right, legend around CIVI TAS DVR HAM

Size and Weight: 13.5mm, 0.59g

References: Spink 2352, North 1813

Features and Provenance: The legend on the coin is rather ironic, translating to: ‘Henry, by the Grace of God, a rose without a thorn.’ Born in 1491, Henry Tudor went from a healthy, handsome, sportsman in his youth to totally the opposite, dying at the relatively young age of 55 in 1557. He is well known for his obsession to have a male heir and this led him to marry six wives.

He is less well known for his greed and need to raise money for his wars in France. To this end, he debased the coinage to such an extent that towards the end of his reign silver coins only had a wash of precious metal over base metal; when this wore away on the high points the copper could be seen underneath, gaining the king the nickname ‘Old Coppernose.’

Condition Summary. This varies with the age of coin and there are grades between

Uncirculated (U). As struck with no traces of wear

Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of legend etc present. visible and clear

Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of legend etc present. but maybe worn

Fine (F). Wear on the coin and parts of legend etc may be missing or not visible