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Charles V

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Henry VIII ,   King of England 1509-1547 Edward VI ,   King of England 1547-1553 Mary Tudor ,   Queen of England 1553-1558

Henry VIII ,  King of England 1509-1547 * 1478. Henry VIII followed his father Henry VII, who had won the English throne for the House of Tudor. Henry VIII loved luxury, he was high-handed and brutal even to the people of his entourage, and he is ill-famed because of the unfortunate fate of most of his six wives. His struggle with the pope about divorcing his first wife Catharine of Aragón, an aunt of Charles V, took several years. It ended in England's seperation from the catholic church and the confiscation of monasteries. Henry's children Edward, Mary, and eventually Elisabeth I (1558-1608) succeeded him on the throne. In 1521 the pope had proclaimed Henry "Fidei Defensor" (defendor of faith) for a paper he had written against Luther. In 1544, after the pope had excommunicated Henry on the proclamation of his divorce, the English Parliament once again awarded him this title, which, from then on, was a hereditary one. The title ("F.D.") has been used on coins since the reign of George I (1714-1727). Groat (gros à la tête), n.d. (1513-7), Tournai.     Ø 27mm, 2,80g.   Seaby 2317 Obv.:   crowned head of his predecessor Henry VII (mm.) HENRIC × DEI GRA × REX + FRANC + Z + AGLIE × "Henry by the grace of God King of France and England" Rev.:   royal arms ( French fleur-de-lis and English lions ) layed on a cross (mm.) CIVI - TAS ‡ - ‡ TORN - ACENs     "city of Tournai" In 1513 Henry VIII assisted the Netherlands (Habsburg) against King Louis XII. Attacking from Calais, England's last continental property, 30,000 English soldiers took Tournai, a French enclave inside Habsburg territory. Tournai became once again French in 1517 until it finally fell to Charles V and the Netherlands in 1521. Sovereign, Second Coinage (1526-44), London.     GOLD, Ø 42mm, 15,42g.   Seaby 2267 Obv.:   King enthroned, holding sceptre and orb. Mintmark portcullis at his feet. (mm. lis) hENRICVS:DEI:GRACIA:REX - ANGLIE:ET:FRANCiae:DomiNuS:HIBernia Rev.:   Royal coat of arms on a rose within ornaments. (mm. arrow) IhESVS:AVTEM:TRANSIENS:PER:MEDIVM:ILLORVM:IBAT "Jesus passing through the midst of them went his way" (Lucas) Picture and letters of this gold coin are still in the tradition of the high Middle-Ages. The sovereign of this likeness had been introduced by Henry VII in 1489. It equalled 20 shillings at 12 pence, i.e. one pound sterling at 240 pennies. The rose on the reverse recalls the War of the Roses (1455-85) that took place between the Houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose) before Henry VII won the English throne for the House of Tudor. Goat, n.d. (Third Coinage), Tower.     Ø 25mm, 2,46g.   Seaby 2369 Obv.:   impressive frontal portrait     HENRIC9.8:D.G.REX.ANGLIA Z FRANC Rev.:   arms     POSVI - DEVm·A - DIVTOR - E:MEVm   "I have made God my helper."

Edward VI ,  King of England 1547-1553 Henry VIII was finally give a male heir in his third marriage with Jane Seymour. Edward VI, born in 1537, succeeded to the throne when he was only ten years old and died of tuberculosis in 1553. He supported the reformation and confirmed his regent's decision to bar his half-sister Mary from the throne because she was an ardent catholic. shilling, n.d. (1549-51), London.     Ø 30mm , 6,08g   Seaby 2482 ; North 1937 Obv.:   crowned head between rose and 'XII' (12 pence worth) :EDWARD'.VI:Dei'.Gratia'.AnGLiae.FRAnciae:Z(et):HIBerniae'REX: (mm. tun) "Edward VI, by the grace of God king of England, France and Ireland" Rev.:   royal arms layed on a cross (tun) POSVI - DEVm.A - DIVTOR - E' MEV'   "I have made God my helper" 1/2 Sovereign, n.d. (1549-50), London.   GOLD, Ø 32mm, 5,42g.   Seaby 2438 ; Fb.181 Obv.:   crowned effigy EDWARD'.VI:Dei':Gratia':AnGLiae.FRAnciae:Z(et):HIBerniae'REX   (swan) "Edward VI, by the grace of God king of England, France and Ireland"   (mintmark) Rev.:   crowned oval coat of arms between initials E - R (Edward - Rex) SCVTVM¤FIDEI¤PROTEGIT¤EVM   (swan) "The shield of faith protects him (the king)"  (mintmark) medal 1547, unknown artist, exposed at the coin cabinet Munich.

Mary Tudor,  Queen of England 1553-1558 Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was born in 1516. When her father divorced, she was separated from her mother and humilated by the new queen Anne Boleyn (mother of Elizabeth I). After Anne's execution, the next queen Jane Seymour (mother of Edward VI) achieved Mary's reconciliation with her father: Mary, an orthodox catholic, had to acknowledge her father as head of the Church of England and admit the "incestuous illegality" of his marriage to her mother. When Mary's half-brother Edward succeeded to the throne, pressure on Mary and the catholic opposition increased. Mary had to flee when Edward died, but soon after she was able to enforce her right to the throne. Charles V, Mary's cousin, had once been her fiancee but had then changed his mind. Mary's father discouraged other applicants to her hand for political reasons. So Mary was 37 and still unmarried when she became queen in 1553. A year later she married Philip II, 11 years younger than herself, and the son of Charles V, who had suggested this marriage. However, the marriage remained childless, and as Philip was not well liked in England, he soon returned to the Netherlands. Some years later, Mary entered into an alliance with Philip, who was by then king of Spain, and in doing so she lost Calais, England's last property on the Continent. Under Mary's reign a fierce persecution of protestants set in, although far fewer piles burned in "Bloody" Mary's England than in the Spanish Netherlands. Mary's endeavours to re-catholise the country came to an end with her half-sister Elisabeth I who she had appointed heir apparent to the throne. Elisabeth ultimately established the English national church and in defeating Philip II's Spanish Armada brought about England's rise to naval supremacy. shilling 1554.     Ø 30mm , 5,84g.   Seaby 2500 Obv.:   Busts of Philip II and Mary facing each other, crown and date on top PHILIPpus·ET·MARIA·Dei·Gratia·Rex·ANGliae·FRanciae·NEAPolis·PRinceps·HISPaniarum Rev.:   Crowned arms (half Spanish, half English), above 'X' - 'II' (worth 12 pence) POSVIMVS·DEVM·ADIVTOREM·NOSTRVM     "We have made God our helper" Compare Philip's mezzo ducato, n.d.(1554-6) from Naples with a similar reverse side. Note the central dot on both sides of the coin. Compare the effigy of Mary on the above coin and on the following medal. Goldmedal  from Jacopo da Trezzo, cast and chased about 1555.   Ø 69mm , 183,5g. London, The British Museum Obv.:   Bust wearing an ornately embroidered gown and a brooch with pendant pearl; the cap is adorned with jewels and has a veil at the back; below the bust, the signature IAC TREZ from medalist. MARIA · I REGina · ANGLiae · FRANCiae · ET · HIBerniae · FIDEI · DEFENSATRIX "Mary I, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith" Rev.:   A figure of Peace seated on a throne and wearing antique drapery and a radiating crown. She holds palm and olive branches in her right hand, in her left a torch with which she ignites a pile of arms and armors. Below the throne are a set of scales and a cube showing two clasped hands in relief. To the left, a group of suppliants is beset by storms, to the right, more figures and a temple; above are rays issuing from a cloud and below a river. CECIS VISVS TIMIDIS · QVIES     "Sight to the blind, tranquility to the timid" This is the most spectacular of da Trezzo's (1514-1589) medals. It would appear that the medal of Mary was commissioned by Philip, who intended it as "a compliment to Mary upon her government of the kingdom." The jewel hanging at her breast is probably the one Philip sent her in June 1554, since described as "a great diamond with a large pearl pendant, one of the most beautiful pieces ever seen in the world". The reverse symbolizes the peaceful state of the kingdom under Mary and the blessings enjoyed by her subjects thanks to reconciliation with Rome. The queen herself appears as Peace. Below her throne are symbols of stability (the cube), unity (the clasped hands), and justice (the scales). As an emblem of peace, the motif of an allegorical female figure setting fire to the accoutrements of war can be traced back to ancient Roman coins. The figures beset by storms are Mary's subjects before her accession. Under her reign, they bask in radiant sunlight.         [from The Currency of Fame] Lit.:   : S.K. Scher (Ed.), The Currency of Fame, Portrait medals of the Rennaissance, 1994.

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Charles V   /   Karl V.

TOUR :   Spanish contemporaries