Mary Tudor, portrait silver Penny, Tower Mint, extremely rare

Mary Tudor (1553-54), silver portrait Penny, Tower Mint London, first type, crowned bust left with pearl earring and necklace, linear and beaded circles with abbreviated Latin legend with Roman style lettering surrounding, no initial mark, pellet stops, M'. D'. G'. ROSA. SINE. SPINA., rev. long cross fourchee over quartered shield, legend VERI TAS& TEMP FILIA, mint mark pomegranate after TAS, weight 0.58g (N.1962; S.2494). A little uneven in shape with a light crease, some light porosity and scratch behind bust, one light surface crack to reverse, otherwise fine, reverse very fine and extremely rare.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Mary, by the Grace of God, a rose without a thorn" and on the reverse "Truth, the Daughter of Time" a legend only used on Mary Tudor coinage.

This coin used to be the Spink Standard Catalogue plate coin in older editions where it used to be erroneously labelled as 2495.

Queen Mary I was born on 18^th February 1516 to Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII and baptised a catholic. Her younger half-brother inherited the kingdom from their Father Henry VIII in 1547 at a young age but died from a lung condition aged 15 on 6^th July 1553 leaving a succession crisis as Edward feared the Protestantism he had had instilled in England would be reversed by Mary. Leading politicians claimed Lady Jane Grey to be the next Queen as the boy King's choice and Mary hastily assembled a force at Framlingham Castle in East Anglia by the 12^th July having already written to the Privy Council on the 9^th with order for her proclamation as successor. Support for Jane championed by the Earl of Northumberland collapsed at nine days duration leading ultimately to Jane's demise by execution. Mary triumphantly entered London on 3rd of August with her half-sister Elizabeth and over 800 nobles and gentlemen. She was coronated on the 1^st October 1553. Mary attempted to restore to the church much of the land and buildings that had been confiscated by her Father but was thwarted by Parliament and in the process had over 280 religious dissenters to Catholicism burned at the stake, known as the Marian persecutions. Mary was recommended by her cousin Charles V of Spain to marry his son Philip who was once married already with one son, and heir to vast lands in Europe and the New World. This was not popular with the English people fearing England would become dependent on the Hapsburgs and further reverse Protestantism. A rebellion broke out led by Thomas Wyatt but on reaching London he was defeated, captured and executed along with the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey and her husband Guildford Dudley. Even Elizabeth was implicated and spent two months in prison at the Tower. A Marriage Act targeted at this specific union with Philip was drawn up where he could be styled as King of England but all official documents were to have both the Queen and King's names and dated under their joint authority for Mary's life only. England would not be obliged to support Charles V in any overseas wars and Philip could not act in England without his wife's consent or appoint foreign officers to positions in England. Philip was not happy with the terms but continued for the sake of the marriage. To give Philip higher rank to be on par with Mary his Father Charles V ceded the crown of Naples and the claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to Philip which appears within his titles on some of their joint coin issues. The wedding went ahead on 25^th July 1554 at Winchester Cathedral only two days after they had actually met, and Philip could not speak English so they conversed in a mixture of Spanish, French and Latin. By September Mary seemed to be pregnant and a birth seemed imminent by the following April. Elizabeth was released from arrest to be present to witness the birth and a false rumour even spread that a son had been born. However, it was a ghost pregnancy perhaps generated by Mary's overwhelming desire to be a mother, Philip meanwhile left England to command armies in France and Mary fell into a depression. In January 1556 Charles V died and Philip was declared King of Spain in Brussels. Philip returned to England from March to July 1557 to persuade Mary to support Spain in a renewed war with France and though she was in favour, her councillors rightfully opposed it citing the marriage treaty. However, war with France went ahead in June of 1557 as Thomas Stafford nephew of Reginal Pole invaded England with French help seizing Scarborough Castle in a failed attempt to depose the Queen. A victory for the English followed in France at the Battle of St Quentin in August but ultimately the war failed as by January of 1558 Calais was lost as the last English possession in Mainland France. Meanwhile Mary again assumed she was pregnant after Philip's English visit to no avail and she accepted by May 1558 in her weakened state that Elizabeth would be her successor. Mary died aged 42 on 17^th November 1558 possibly from uterine cancer or cysts.

Capital City London upon the River Thames following Roman occupation, minted some of the earliest Saxon coins with gold Thrymsas and silver denarii with a "Londuniu" signature. Mercian Kings beginning with Offa minted coins there, but the first coin to actually say City of London upon it is the unique Ludica portrait Penny that was found in 2016, followed by subsequent coins of Ecgberht. In 871 the Danes wintered in London for the first time but was King Alfred of Wessex who settled and fortified the capital circa 880 to resist further invasions. Edward the Elder incorporated the City in Wessex in 911 and it resisted a major attack in the reign of Aethelred II in 1009. However, London submitted to the Danish Swein in 1013, but three years later the citizens accepted Eadmund Ironside as King and resisted a siege by Canute.

Later unsettled times occurred in the anarchy period of the reign of King Stephen, remaining loyal to the King except for a few months in 1141 when Empress Matilda was admitted but within a short time expelled. Coinage activity here has been mostly constant throughout history from the Romans until the reign of our current Queen and only moving out to Wales from 1969.

Provenance:

Ex Dr John Hulett Collection, part VI, Dix Noonan and Webb Auction 148, 18^th September 2018, lot 341.

Ex Collection of an English Doctor part III, Sovereign Rarities fixed price list online September 2022.