Description:
This silver groat coin was minted during the reign of Henry VIII, who was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. The obverse side features the crowned bust of Henry with the Latin legend HENRIC VIII D GR AGL Z FRANC translated to “Henry VIII by the Grace of God King of England and France.” The reverse side shows a long cross over the Royal Shield with the legend CIVITAS EBORACI “City of York.”
During his reign, Henry greatly expanded his royal power and in 1529 he made the most radical and decisive act of any English monarch with the English Reformation. This began the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church and eventually made England a mostly Protestant nation. Henry never formally repudiated the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, but he declared himself supreme head of the Church in England in 1534. It was increasingly intolerable to Henry that major decisions in England were settled by Italians. His divorce to his wife also exemplified the problem.
Henry's seizure of power from the Roman Church in England set the course for the transformation of England into a powerful nation. He is also famously remembered for having six wives, two of whom he had beheaded. In his prime, Henry was a charismatic man, educated and accomplished, he was an author and a composer. He was obsessed with providing England with a male heir, but it was his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, who became one of England's most beloved monarchs.
