Henry VII (1485 - 1509) Read about Henry VII

Hammered Gold

WAu-9296: Henry VII Tudor Hammered Gold Angel. Type III with new dies - the angel has both feet on the dragon. Initial mark Anchor, 1499 - 1502. The angel, which circulated at 6s.8d, was a medieval coin but under this first Tudor monarch, was restyled with St Michael - about to symbolically thrust the devil into the pit - no longer adorned with feathers, rather clad in armour of Renaissance style. S.R.2183. £2,325

Provenance:

A field find from around the Horncastle / Skegness area of Eastern England.

Hammered Silver

Groats

(Old “facing” style)

WTH-7826: Henry VII Tudor Hammered Silver Groat. Rarer facing bust, open medieval-style crown, class 1 London groat. S.R. 2193. The initial mark is interesting. The Tim Owen ticket stated "Lis-Rose Dimidiated". I see it tentatively as a mule of obverse 41 (Lis upon Sun & Rose), reverse 40 (Lis upon Half Rose). The latter is interesting as the Lis resembles a Trident! Lovely grade, albeit some clipping 3-9 o'clock and the rarer first issue. A worthy coin! £425

WTH-7079: Henry VII Facing Bust Issue Hammered Silver Groat. Rarer class 1 with open crown and initial mark Half Lis & Rose. London mint, S.R. 2193. Pedigree coin (see old tickets), being ex Carlylon-Britton collection (he looks to have paid £6 for this coin in 1965) and at least one other. £485

WTH-7841: Henry VII Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Facing bust, open crown, rarer class 1. Initial mark Rose (1487-8), London mint, crosses by the neck - S.R. 2194. Extra piece of metal from the minting process. Ex Tim Owen. Excellent grade. £395

WTH-7840: Henry VII Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Facing bust, closed crown, class IIIc. Initial mark inverted Anchor / Anchor (1499-1502), London mint, one plain, one jewelled arch to crown - S.R. 2199. Excellent provenance, being ex H.M. Lingford collection (bought July 1947) with original ticket. £395

WTH-7532: Henry VII Hammered Silver Tudor Groat. Facing bust issue, class IVa, S.R. 2200. London mint, initial mark Cross Crosslet. Ex Lingford collection with his old ticket. £435

(New style “profile” issue

Groats

WTH-7986: Henry VII Hammered Silver TENTATIVE Issue Groat. Initial mark Cross Crosslet, 1504-5, Tower mint, London - very much contemporary and issued alongside the old-fashioned facing bust types. Double banded crown, youthful features: S.R. 2254. It can not be overstated how radical a change this new profile coinage was at the time, something that obviously went further under Henry VIII, Edward VI, etc, but most definitely started here. Together with the testoon and the new gold sovereign, the Tudors under Henry VII drew a serious line under the previous 200+ years of how the Medieval lot did things! The Scottish experimented with side profile coinage, albeit to a far lesser extent (a fraction to the left of front facing!) slightly earlier than this under James III (1485) but it took until James V in 1526 to go the whole hog and issue virtually a duplicate of this tentative groat. A highly sought after and collected coin. £965

Provenance:

Ex Ian Davison

Halfgroats

WTH-9337: Choice Henry VII Hammered Silver Profile Issue Hoard Halfgroat. The later Profile issue, introduced during the opening years of the 1500's - it is sometimes muted that this major deviation from the previous several hundred years depiction of the monarch was in response to the Scottish profile issue of James V but in reality, the English were inspired by European profile currency and the Scottish duly copied the English. Initial mark Martlet (1502-04), York Episcopal mint under Archbishop Bainbridge - two angled keys under the reverse shield. S.R.2262. The Littlebrook Hoard was discovered on 12 May 2004 during excavations for the foundations of a new extension to Littlebrook Farm in Belchalwell Street, Dorset. A mechanical digger unearthed a pottery jug which was found to contain 213 silver coins: 176 groats and 37 half groats in varying condition, the bulk dating from the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). The find was reported and submitted to the British Museum and the coins were examined and catalogued by Dr Barrie Cook, the Curator of Medieval Coins. An inquest was held in Dorchester in March 2005 and the find was confirmed as Treasure Trove and thus subject to the relevant legal rules. In accordance with the rules relating to Treasure the hoard was offered to local museums and the jug and thirteen of the coins were removed and are now the property of the Dorset County Museum. After discussion and settlement with the finders, the current owners decided to retain the remaining 200 coins but have subsequently decided to sell them on the open market with full provenance. The coins are thought to have been deposited probably c. 1514-1520. Littlebrook Farm lies in an isolated area of the Blackmore Vale, a mile from the nearest hamlet and about 14 miles from Dorchester. The area is known to be on the regular smuggling routes from the coastal areas of Portland to centres such as Salisbury and Bristol, which is probably the explanation for the hoard’s deposit, especially considering the denominations were unusually small. Lovely grade, the rarer profile issue and a link to the infamous South Coast smuggling fraternity! £485 RESERVED (M.He.26-5-26 Lay-Away)

Provenance:

ex Littlebrook Coin Hoard, 2004

Sovereign Pennies

WTH-7889: Henry VII Hammered Silver Sovereign Penny. An Episcopal issue struck at the York mint under Archbishop Thomas Rotherham prior to 1500, according to the accompanying ticket. S.R. 2237. Slightly short of flan but remarkable in the grade department. Ex Gordon Singer (his ticket - sold for $135 in the early 2000's), ex Arthur Fitts collection. £225