European Medals from 1513 to 1788
England. Henry VIII, 1509-1547. Medal (Silver, 50mm, 56.40 g 1), on Henry VIII’s assumption of the title ”Supreme Head of the Church of England”, by Henry Bayse (or Basse), chief engraver of the mint of London, 1545. HENRICVS.OCTA.ANGLIÆ.FRANCI. ET.HIB.REX.FIDEI.DEFENSOR.ET. / IN.TERR.ECCLE.ANGLI. ET.HIBE.SVB.CHRIST.CAPVT.SVPREMVM (= Henry VIII, King of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, and under Christ the supreme head on earth of the Church of England and Ireland ) Bust of Henry VIII to right, wearing a jeweled cap, an ermine robe and a collar of jewels around his neck; around, inscription in two concentric circles divided by the crowned royal badges of the Rose (above), the Portculis (to right), the Fleur-de-lis (below) and the Harp (to left). Rev. Translations of the obverse Latin inscription into Hebrew, above, and Greek ΕΝΡΙΚΟΣ Ο ΟΓΔΟΟΣ ΤΡΙΣ / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ .ΠΙΣΤΕΩΣ ΠΡΟ = / ΣΤΑΤΗΣ .ΕΝ ΤΗ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ / ΤΗΣ ΑΓΓΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΒΕΡΝΙ / ΑΣ .ΥΠΟ ΧΡΙΣΤΩ .ΑΚΡΗ / Η ΚΕΦΑΛΗ below Eleven lines of inscription (five in Hebrew and six in Greek); above, H R; at the end of the Hebrew inscription, two rosettes and two fleurs-de-lis; at the end of the Greek inscription, rosette and fleur-de-lis; below, Londini 1545 . R. Bishop, ”Hebraica Veritas,” Spink’s Magazine, Winter 2009-2010, pp. 18-21 ( this medal cited and illustrated ). Eimer 26 a ( this piece, illustrated on pl. 1 ). G. F. Hill, ”The medal of Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church”, NC 1916, pp. 194-195. MI I, pp. 47-48, 44. Very rare. An original striking, nicely toned and most impressive, with a fine portrait of Henry VIII in his later years. Minor marks with some very light smoothing in the obverse fields, otherwise , very fine. Once with Spink and Son, London. This is considered to be the first medal to have been made in England and is also the first English medal of the Renaissance. The explosion of learning that began under Henry VIII included the study of both Greek and Hebrew, which had been hitherto little known. This learning, with its interest in the original form of the Bible, and the need for a male heir, led to Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his break with Rome - the king’s ”Great Matter.” Henry was declared head of the Church of England in 1534; and some ten years later this medal was struck to commemorate that event. Very soon after it was produced it was seen by a Corfiote scholar, Andronico Nunzio, who was traveling in the suite of the Emperor Charles V’s ambassador. He then published comments about it in the journal of his travels, which was written in ancient Greek in the late 1540s (it was translated into English in 1841).