Royal Mint unveil King Henry VIII coin
- Published
This is what the new coin looks like compared to a coin from King Henry VIII's reign
He's arguably one of the most famous Tudor kings and now his face is available on a modern-day coin too.
The Royal Mint - the official maker of British coins - has unveiled the coin with a portrait of Henry VIII as part of their British monarchs collection.
The image was based on real coins from his reign, which was between 1509 and 1547.
King Charles appears on the front of the coin and Henry on the back.
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One of the big challenges for the makers was that the coins used during Henry VIII's reign were debased - this is when you combine a precious metal like silver or gold with a more common metal, like copper.
It caused problems for the Mint to recreate his portrait for the modern coin because the original coins had lost so much definition.
The Mint said it was "one of the most difficult of the original portraits to reproduce for the collection."
Henry VIII was sometimes called 'old Coppernose' by his subjects. It's because the thin layer of silver over the top of the copper coins would slowly rub away to reveal some of the copper - usually just where Henry VIII's nose was on the coin!
King Henry VIII is now looking just as shiny as the new monarch, King Charles III, on his coin in 2023
With the help of scanners to examine the original coins, the Mint's design team managed to remaster the original coin.
Getting your hands on one will set you back a few of your own pennies though.
Prices for the Henry VIII coin range from nearly 拢100 to over 拢12,000 - a royal price!
What do you think of the coin? Let us know in the comments below!
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