Coin, halfgroat, excavated at Winchester, Hampshire, issued by Henry VII, at Canterbury, Kent, 1485 to 1509.

Coin, halfgroat, excavated at Winchester, Hampshire, issued by Henry VII, at Canterbury, Kent, 1485 to 1509.

Silver half groat of Henry VII

Tudor, struck in 1489

Found during archaeological excavations at Wolvesey Palace, Winchester, Hampshire

Henry, Earl of Richmond, to whom the Lancastrian claim had descended, defeated the Yorkist Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. He ascended the throne as Henry VII and by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, united the claims of Lancaster and York and thus ended the Wars of the Roses. His reign was to see the end of medieval England and the beginning of the Renaissance. It was also to see the beginning of a new era for the coinage of England. This half groat, or twopence, is of Henry VII's second coinage and was struck in Canterbury - the reverse inner circle reads CIVITAS CANTOR. On the obverse the king is shown facing but instead of wearing the open crown of previous issues he wears an arched crown.

Coin, halfgroat, excavated at Winchester, Hampshire, issued by Henry VII, at Canterbury, Kent, 1485 to 1509.