Collection Highlights: Heberden Coin Room

 

Henry VIII

HCRhenryVIII

English, 1545, gold medal, 52 mm diameter, minted at London. Bust of Henry VIII / Inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek.

As a consequence of Henry VIII's break with Rome, he claimed to be the ‘Supreme Head of the Church of England'. This medal by Henry Basse records the king's full titles, in Latin on the obverse, surrounding his portrait, and in Greek and Hebrew on the reverse. This vivid and unusual portrait of the king may be compared with the image of him more generally broadcast by copies after Holbein.

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