A Crown of the Rose is an extremely rare gold coin of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

introduced in 1526 during the reign of Henry VIII, in an attempt to compete with the French ''

écu The term ''écu'' () or crown may refer to one of several French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. ''Écu'' (from Latin ''scutum'') means shield, and the coin ...

au soleil''. The coin was not a success and just a few months later it was replaced by the Crown of the Double-Rose. The Crown of the Rose coin was valued at four shillings and sixpence (4''s.'' 6''d.''), weighed 3.5 grams and had a gold content of 23 ct. It was only struck for a few months. Due to its very short circulation, there are currently only three known specimens. Crown of the Rose #1, discovered in or just prior to 1907, is in the museum of the American Numismatic Society in New York. Provenance - J. Sandford Saltus; president of both the New York Numismatic Club and British Numismatic Society. Crown of the Rose #2 is in the British Museum.It is described as having been acquired in 1920. This coin was previously drilled to be used as a necklace medallion Crown of the Rose #3, same type as above, was reported sold to Spink of London in 1961 for £4,000 and was brought "from a man in Northumberland who had a collection of silver and gold coins, not thinking there was much of value in them".Glasgow Herald, April 15th, 1961. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19610415&id=QBU1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=5KULAAAAIBAJ&pg=5303,6760670 Spink's example is no doubt the one appearing in their catalogue (#2272), and looks to be the finest of the three - superbly struck and with very little wear. ; Obverse : Depicts a crowned shield with the arms of England and France. Legend: HENRIC 8 DEI GRA REX AGL Z FRAC, meaning "Henry VIII, by the Grace of God King of England and France." ; Reverse : Depicts a large rose with two crowned letters "h" and two lions. Legend of two varieties: HENRIC RUTILANS ROSA SINE SPINA meaning "Henry, a dazzling rose without a thorn" and DNS HIB RUTILANS ROSA SINE SPINA meaning " Lord of Ireland, a dazzling rose without a thorn."

Crown of the Double-Rose

The Crown of the Double-Rose was valued at 5 shillings (5s), weighed 57.5 grains (3.73 grams), and had a diameter of 26 mm, but with a lower gold content of 22 ct. This was the first time gold had been minted below the standard of 23 ct. This coin proved to be more popular than its predecessor and was struck until Henry's death in 1547, although it continued to be minted until 1551 during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

as "posthumous coinage". ;Obverse Depicts a crowned shield with the arms of England and France and either blank or the crowned letters "hK" (for Henry and Katherine, referring to

Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously P ...

or possibly on later coins

Katherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the ...

), "hA" (for

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

), "hI" (for

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

) or "hR" (Henry Rex). Legend: DEI GR ANGLIE FRANC DNS HIBERNIE meaning "By the Grace of God, King of England ndFrance, Lord of Ireland. ;Reverse Depicts a large crowned rose with the crowned letters "hK", "hA", "hI" or "hR" as on the obverse, but not necessarily the same. Legend: HENRIC VIII RUTILANS ROSA SINE SPINA meaning "Henry VIII, a dazzling rose without a thorn."

Half-crown

There was also a Half-crown struck, based on the design of the Crown of the Double-Rose. It was valued at two shillings and six pence (2s/6d), weighed 1.85 grams and had a diameter of 20 mm. It was struck during the same period as the Crown of the Double-Rose. ;Obverse Similar depiction as for the Crown of the Double-Rose, with uncrowned letters. Legend: HENRIC 8 D G AGL FR Z HIB REX, meaning "Henry VIII, by the Grace of God King of England, France and Ireland." ;Reverse Similar depiction as Crown of the Double-Rose with uncrowned letters. Legend: RUTILANS ROSA SINE SPINA, meaning "a dazzling rose without a thorn."

References

{{Coins of England English gold coins Coins of England Tudor England 16th-century economic history 1526 in England