1544 Groat Henry VIII Second head Laker bust

Classification: House of Tudor. King of England. Hammered.

Henry VIII was born in 28 June 1491, his parents being King Henry VII of England, Elizabeth of York. He became King in 1509 aged just seventeen.

Henry was well educated and athletic, standing six feet tall. Henry liked to have his own way and could ruthlessly enforce it, and in doing so blew the fortune left him by his Father. He split with the Pope who didn't allow him to divorce, leading the King to become the head of the Church of England. He built a large Navy and heavily debased the currency.

Henry VIII is perhaps most well know for having six wives: Catherine of Aragon (m. 1509; ann. 1533); Anne Boleyn (m. 1533; ann. 1536); Jane Seymour (m. 1536; d. 1537); Anne of Cleves (m. 1540; ann. 1540); Catherine Howard (m. 1540; d. 1542); and Catherine Parr (m. 1543).

Three of Henry's children had a turn on the throne: Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
The Groat is an old coin worth four pence. It was found in England, Ireland and Scotland. The English Groat can be traced back to Edward I and was minted (not every year) up until Victoria although the fourpence coin is still minted today for use in Maundy sets.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.