Katherine of Aragon, First Wife of Henry VIII
TUDOR. Henry VIII, with Katharine of Aragon. 1509-1547. AV Crown of the Double Rose (24mm, 3.71 g, 8h). Second coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: rose. Struck 1526-1529. Crowned double rose; crowned Һ K flanking / Crowned coat-of-arms. Schneider 581 var. (stops); North 1788; SCBC 2273. A few areas of soft strike. Good VF.
There are few opportunities for collectors of Tudor coins to incorporate the wives of Henry VIII into their collections. Though no portrait issues were ever struck or them, the women were commemorated on Henry’s crown gold coinage and the silver harp types for Ireland. On this example, the crowned letter K to the right of the devices represents Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She died in 1536 after being separated from Henry VIII and stripped of her title following the annulment of their marriage.
