Collection Online as of March 23, 2023

Sovereign: Henry VII (obverse); Shield of Arms in Tudor Rose (reverse)

1504–9

Part of a set. See all set records

England, Henry VII, 1485-1509

Gold

Diameter: 4.1 cm (1 5/8 in.)

The Norweb Collection 1969.169

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Sovereigns are large, thin gold coins that feature portraits of the respective monarch; here Henry VII is sitting on a throne.

Description

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.

Inscriptions

Inscription

HENRICIUS DEI GRATIA, REX, ANGLIAE, FRANCIAE, ET HIBRNIA DNS HIB

Inscription Translation

Henry, by the grace of God, King of England, France and Hibernia (Ireland)

Inscription Remark

obverse

Inscription

IHESUS AVTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORVM IBAT

Inscription Translation

But Jesus, passing through the midst of them went his way.

Inscription Remark

reverse, Luke 4:30

Provenance

-1969

Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art

Citations

Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968. p. 28

Exhibition history

English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).

Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).