Cleveland Museum of Art

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

Date: 1504–9
Medium: gold
Culture: England, Henry VII, 1485-1509
Department: Medieval Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

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

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