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!
6 Pence - Henry VIII
| Issuer | Dublin Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1550 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 6 Pence (1⁄40) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A long cross fourchée divides the field into four quarters, each containing a heraldic shield: the quarters display alternating fleurs-de-lis (for France) and passant guardant lions (for England), reflecting the royal arms of Henry VIII as struck for Irish coinage. The shields are set within a beaded inner circle, and the peripheral legend POSUI DEUM ADIUTOREM MEUM — meaning 'I have made God my helper' — encircles the design, a standard Henrician reverse motto. The overall style is consistent with hammered Irish sixpences of the period, showing the characteristic irregularity of planchet and strike. |
| 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 |
This piece dates to the final years of Henry VIII's systematic debasement of Irish coinage, a policy that ran from roughly 1540 until his death in 1547 — meaning this 1550 issue was struck under Edward VI while still carrying his father's name and portrait, a common transitional practice. The Irish mint at Dublin was particularly aggressive in reducing silver fineness during this period, producing coins that contemporaries complained turned their skin green and their purses worthless.
Spink 6488 is among the scarcer denominations of the harp coinage debased series, with surviving examples frequently showing corrosion consistent with the low silver content reacting over centuries.