History of the English penny (1485–1603)
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
This article is part of a series on the |
History of the English penny |
---|
The history of the English penny from 1485 to 1603 covers the period of the
The Tudors (1485–1603)
Henry VII
Henry Tudor, who reigned as King Henry VII between 1485 and 1509, had a rather tenuous claim on the throne, being the Lancastrian claimant via an illegitimate descendant of Edward III when all the more senior candidates had been killed off in the Wars of the Roses. He concluded the wars with his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Subsequently, he consolidated this power through various means, including his marriage to Elizabeth of York, which united the two warring dynasties. Henry VII's reign was marked by pretenders' claims to the throne, whose existence resulted from the king's initially insecure grasp of power; Henry could subdue each of these attempted usurpers without particular difficulty. The whole style of Henry's coinage marked a break with what had gone before — the king's bust became more lifelike, and the shields on the reverse became much more detailed. Henry's first coinage is very like that of Henry V and Henry VI, minted at London, Canterbury, Durham, and York. The inscription was one of a variety of HENRIC DI GRA REX ANG — Henry by the grace of God King of England. Soon, however, Henry introduced what is known as the "Sovereign coinage", so called because the king is depicted seated on a throne, while the reverse shows the royal shield over a cross. This issue is regarded as marking the division between the coins of the Middle Ages and of the Renaissance in England.[citation needed] The Sovereign coinage was minted at London, Durham, and York, and inscribed with one of a variety of HENRICUS DI GRA REX ANG.[citation needed]
Henry VIII
Henry's first coinage, to 1526, resembled that of his father and still used his father's portrait. With higher bullion prices on the continent, the weight of the silver coins was reduced again.[
The
Edward VI
The debased coinage caused rampant inflation, so when Henry died in 1547 he left behind a country with a nine-year-old king, religious turmoil, and economic unrest. Moreover, the influx of silver and gold from Central and South America into Spain and thus to the rest of Europe was destabilising the price of bullion and worsening the situation.
Until 1551, what is known as the posthumous coinage was produced — these were coins which were exactly the same as Henry's last issue, but with a different portrait of him. Inflation over the last thirty years had made the penny much less important, and in fact, for the next few reigns, the most common coins would be shillings, sixpences, and groats. The reign of
Mary I
In 1553 Edward died and was succeeded — after the nine-day rule of Lady Jane Grey — by his older sister, the strongly Catholic Queen Mary. Pennies of her first year, bearing her head alone with the inscription M.D.G. ROSA SINE SPINA — Mary by the grace of God a rose without a thorn — are quite rare. In 1554 she married Philip, the Prince of Spain, and put his portrait on the coinage and her own. Both fine silver and base metal pennies of this reign were issued from the Tower mint, with the legend P Z M D G ROSA SINE SPINA — Philip and Mary by the grace of God a rose without a thorn.
Elizabeth I
When
For the first time in England milled, or machine-produced, coins were produced by
Elizabethan pennies are very small, and are often found creased or bent. The obverse bears the legend E D G ROSA SINE SPINA — Elizabeth by the grace of God a rose without a thorn — around a left-facing bust of the queen, while the reverse bears the legend CIVITAS LONDON — City of London. All pennies were minted at the Tower mint in London.
References
- Coincraft's Standard Catalogue English & UK Coins 1066 to Date, Richard Lobel, Coincraft. ISBN 0-9526228-8-2