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1 Penny - Henry VIII 2nd coinage, Durham mint
| Issuer | England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1526-1544 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Facing crowned effigy of King Henry VIII seated on a throne, rendered in the crude but vigorous style characteristic of hammered Tudor coinage. The king is depicted enthroned within an inner circle, wearing robes and an arched crown, holding the traditional regal pose with hands resting on the arms of the throne. The portrait, though stylized and somewhat archaic in execution, conveys royal authority consistent with second-coinage penny types. A surrounding legend in uncial Latin characters runs along the coin's periphery within the outer border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A quartered royal shield of arms — displaying the lions of England and the fleurs-de-lis of France in alternate quarters — superimposed over a long cross fourchée extending to the coin's edge, dividing the field into four sections. The initials T W appear in the upper quarters of the field, identifying the issuing ecclesiastical authority at the Durham mint. The legend CIVITAS DVRRAM, meaning 'City of Durham', is inscribed in uncial Latin characters around the periphery, broken by the arms of the cross. The overall design is typical of provincial ecclesiastical penny issues of the Tudor period. |
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| Additional information |
Henry VIII's second coinage coincided with the period before the great debasement began in earnest — silver was still relatively honest, though the king's finances were already under strain from military campaigns and court expenditure. Durham pennies of this period were struck under the authority of the Bishop of Durham, Cuthbert Tunstall, who held the franchise to mint coinage in the palatinate. Ecclesiastical mints operating under episcopal privilege were an medieval survival increasingly out of step with Tudor centralization.
Tunstall had previously served as Bishop of London and was a correspondent of Erasmus — an unusual background for a mint operator.