Henry VIII's financial legacy includes one of the most damaging debasements in English monetary history — the "Great Debasement" of 1544–1551, during which silver coinage was diluted to as little as 25% fineness to fund his wars and mounting debts. The irony of his likeness appearing on a .9999 fine gold issue from a Pacific island nation would not have been lost on the merchants who watched his portrait coins turn copper-red on their cheeks as the silver wore away.
Henry VIII's financial legacy includes one of the most damaging debasements in English monetary history — the "Great Debasement" of 1544–1551, during which silver coinage was diluted to as little as 25% fineness to fund his wars and mounting debts. The irony of his likeness appearing on a .9999 fine gold issue from a Pacific island nation would not have been lost on the merchants who watched his portrait coins turn copper-red on their cheeks as the silver wore away.