Lot 2059
Great Britain. Gold Crown of the Double Rose, ND. S.2274; Fr-164. Henry VIII, 1509-1547. Mint mark lis. Obverse: Crowned h and K (Henry and Katherine of Aragon) to each side of central crowned rose. HENRIC VIII RUTILANS ROSA SIE SPIA (SINE SPINA). Reverse Crowned quartered Tudor shield bearing the arms of England and France. Crowned h and K to left and right. A crisply struck coin with sharp detail. Original luster. A remarkably fine example of this (normally) crudely made issue. Struck on a nearly full flan Very rare thus. NGC graded AU-58.
**The royal ciphers on some of his gold crowns and halfcrowns combine the initials of Henry with those of his queens, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. The King's Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsy, was responsible for this coinage reform.
Katherine of Aragon was the youngest surviving child of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and she was married at the age of 15 to Arthur, the son of England's King Henry VII. Sadly, Arthur died a few months later, and as his father was keen to keep Katherine's dowry, she was betrothed to Arthur's younger brother (the future Henry VIII) who was too young to marry at the time. By the time Henry was old enough to wed, his father had lost interest in a Spanish alliance and forced his son to repudiate the betrothal. Henry VII died in 1509 and the knew king married Katherine in the same year. A son (Prince Henry) was born to the couple in 1511, but he died after 52 days. In 1516 Mary gave birth to a daughter (the future Mary I).
Because Katherine could not produce the son and heir which Henry craved, and because of his great interest in Anne Boleyn, Henry rejected the power of the Pope in England and gave Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, the task of annulling his marriage to Katherine. This was achieved, Katherine duly left court, and on January 7th 1536 she died.
Estimated Value $6,000 - 7,000.
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