Sovereign of Thirty Shillings: Edward VI Enthroned (obverse); Shield of Royal Arms on Rose (reverse) (1550–53): Art, History and Details

Sovereign of Thirty Shillings: Edward VI Enthroned (obverse); Shield of Royal Arms on Rose (reverse) (1550–53) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This extremely rare coin was struck at the Tower mint during the last period of the reign (1550–53). It was struck in high quality gold of 23 carat 3 1/2 grains, and the mint mark, an ostrich head, is unusual and unknown outside this coinage. The mint mark can be see on the obverse, above Edward's crown and before the text starts.

Object facts

• Title: Sovereign of Thirty Shillings: Edward VI Enthroned (obverse); Shield of Royal Arms on Rose (reverse)
• Date: 1550–53
• Culture: England, Edward VI, 1547-1553
• Type: Coins
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 4.3 cm (1 11/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Numismatics
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1969.177

A detail from the museum

The reverse shield of arms shows three fleurs-de-lis for France and three lions for England, each repeated.

Collection credit

The Norweb Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.