Ireland, Henry VIII Sixpenny Groat, 6th Harp issue, Regnal date of year 38 of reign

Ireland, Henry VIII (1509-47),silver of 0.250 fineness, Groat, sixth harp issue (1546-47), long cross fourchee over crowned quartered shield of arms, linear and beaded circles and legend surrounding, hEnR IC +8+ D'. G'. AnGL' FRAnCI:, trefoil either side of 8,rev.crowned harp, crowned h to left, crowned R to right, beaded circles and legend surrounding, WS+ET+ hIBERnIE+ REX+ 38, WS ligatured, lis before rex and leaf or lis as other stops, weight 1.70g (DF 212; S.6484).With greenish tone of the base metal and softly struck on a broad flan, some small rim splits, Fine and extremely rare with the 38 legend.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate across both sides as "Henry the Eighth by the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, year 38"

The 38 is reference to the King's regnal year and this coin and the year before dated 37 are one of the earliest attempts to date a British coin. The only precedent being a Tournai Mint Groat when Henry briefly had possession of that mint in 1513 overseas. The dating of English coins does not start till the reign of Edward VI with some silver issues with Roman numeral dates from 1549 onwards, with the first familiarly dated coins dated 1551 of "Arabic" style on the Crown and Halfcrown. These Irish issues minted in Bristol and sent across the Irish Sea by jurisdiction of William Sharrington are the earliest coins issued for Britain dated by regnal year, and this coin is of the rarer "38" issue, with the earlier 37 date perhaps existing in a slight larger number. They are all extremely rare issues and do not survive in much better condition, the cataloguer only having seen one or two other 38 coins in the past decades since the 1990s and a few of the 37 issues.