Watch List notes:

Henry VIII (1509-47), silver Testoon of Twelve Pence, Tower Mint, third coinage (1544-47), facing crowned bust of King in ruff, legend and beaded borders surrounding, cross on crown breaks inner border, lombardic lettering with slipped trefoil stops, initial mark indistinct, hEnRIC; 8; D; G; AGL'. FRA': Z; hIB; REX;, rev. crowned Tudor rose, crowned h to left, crowned R to right, initial mark pellet in annulet, POSVI; DEVm; ADIVTORIVm; mEVm;, 7.87g (N.1841; S.2365). Weakly struck in some portions of the legends, an otherwise superior specimen for issue, good very fine, struck in good silver, no evidence of tooling that often plagues finer representatives of this type, the ever-popular facing portrait of Henry superbly rendered.

The silver Testoons of King Henry VIII circulated at one Shilling face value but became more and more debased as the issue progressed; this ultimately earned Henry the nickname "Old Copper-nose", as the first place that the base metal would show in the coin's alloy was the nose of his portrait, the highest point of the design. These types have always been popular with collectors for their dynamic and vivid depiction of the infamous King, shown here in far finer style than on his other silver denominations.



Provenance:
Ex Sotheby, 21-22nd July 1981, lot 449
Ex Spink Coin Auction 1012, 2nd December 2010, lot 903
Ex Lucien M. LaRiviere, Spink Coin Auction 124, 19th November 1997, lot 1730

(£4,000-£6,000)