Description
Henry VIII of the House of Tudor, King of England 1509-1547 AD, Silver Half Groat of two pence (1.36g, 17mm), Second coinage, initial mark Key 1531-1544 AD, York mint, ecclesiastical issue under the authority of Archbishop Edward Lee. Obverse: Crowned and cuirassed bust of King Henry VIII facing to the right, inner beaded border and legend with cross stops surrounds, “ꞂЄꞂRIC· VIII· D·G· R· ΛGL· Z· FR·”. Reverse: Shield of Arms of the House of Tudor over long cross fourchée, Archbishop’s initials “L E” (Edward Lee) either side of shield, inner beaded border and legend with cross stops surrounds, “CIVITΛS· ·ЄBORΛCI”. North-1807; Spink-2348. Some trifling points of flat strike, easily overlooked, a most charming twopence displaying quite a decent profile portrait of the king, framed with well struck legends awash with rainbow toning, scarce in grade, near Extremely Fine.
The obverse Latin legend reads “Hēnrīcus octāvus, Deī Grātiā, rēx Angliae et Franciae”, with an English translation of “Henry the Eighth, by the Grace of God, King of England and France”. The reverse Latin legend reads “cīvitās Eborācī”, with an English translation of “City of York”.
“Under Henry VIII, England’s northern counties existed in an uneasy peace. Inadequate rule from York weakened the crown’s already tenuous hold on the Marches. The people, upset with the enclosure of common land, were ripe for revolt. By 1536, religious unrest brought matters to a head. The dissolution of monasteries was the last straw for the staunchly Catholic north. In October, the first riots began in Lincolnshire. Though quickly diffused, the unrest spread to Yorkshire, where it took on a more definite form under the leadership of lawyer Robert Aske. Within weeks the rebels took the city of York. The king’s supporters, unable to raise the forces to repel the mob, were forced to join the ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’, as it had become known. Among these supporters was Archbishop Edward Lee, who joined the Pilgrims when they took Pontefract castle, then under the control of Lord Darcy of Templehurst. Aske, realizing that without episcopal support the rebellion could not succeed, hoped the arrival of the archbishop would grant legitimacy to his movement. However, Lee managed to gain promise of safe conduct from the King and, rather than giving the supportive sermon the Pilgrims hoped for, merely cautioned them to behave less like rebels and more like true pilgrims. With the coming of the King and his men, the Pilgrimage of Grace collapsed.” CNG