Henry VIII's financial legacy is more directly connected to coinage than most monarchs'. His debasement of English silver — beginning in 1544 and continuing under his successors until Elizabeth I's recoinage of 1560–61 — was one of the most aggressive currency manipulations in English history, reducing silver fineness from 92.5% to as low as 25% to fund his wars and court expenditure. The irony of commemorating him in .999 fine gold is not lost on anyone familiar with the period.
Henry VIII's financial legacy is more directly connected to coinage than most monarchs'. His debasement of English silver — beginning in 1544 and continuing under his successors until Elizabeth I's recoinage of 1560–61 — was one of the most aggressive currency manipulations in English history, reducing silver fineness from 92.5% to as low as 25% to fund his wars and court expenditure. The irony of commemorating him in .999 fine gold is not lost on anyone familiar with the period.