Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Pounds - Charles III Henry VIII, Gold Proof
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2023 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound sterling (decimalized, 1971-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Uncrowned effigy of His Majesty King Charles III facing left, rendered in high relief with fine portraiture detail by engraver Martin Jennings, whose initials 'MJ' appear below the truncation. The circumferential Latin legend reads CHARLES III · D · G · REX · F · D · 500 POUNDS · 2023, divided by raised dots, arcing around the upper and lower fields. The portrait is set against a highly polished mirror field characteristic of proof coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | CHARLES III·D·G·REX·F·D·500 POUNDS·2023 MJ (Translation: Charles the Third by the Grace of God King Defender of the Faith) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Henry VIII's relationship with English coinage was transformative in the most literal sense: he debased the silver currency so aggressively — reducing fineness from .925 to as low as .333 — that his portrait on shillings would show through as a copper blush on the cheeks, earning him the nickname "Old Copper Nose." This gold issue exists in pointed contrast to that history, struck at a fineness his own mint could never have achieved.
The 2023 issue is part of the Royal Mint's Tudor Beasts series, drawing on the heraldic supporters from the gateway at Hampton Court.