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Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSovereign: 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 Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1969.169
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