Rare 500-year-old Henry VII Tudor coin ‘worth £950,000’ to be auctioned by Royal Mint

THE Royal Mint is flogging an “incredibly rare” 500-year old Tudor coin in a digital auction, and it could go for at least £950,000.

History buffs have traced the coin back to the first Tudor king, Henry VII, and there are only two of these coins which are privately owned in the world.

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The coin shows the King – father to the infamous King Henry VIII who married six wives – seated on a wooden throne, in robes, holding an orb and sceptre.

And on the reverse side shows the shield of England on a Tudor rose.

The coin, called The Henry VII Fine Gold Sovereign of Twenty Shillings, will be flogged in a digital auction on March 4.

Bids will open at an eye-watering £950,000 for the Tudor treasure.

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However, you’ll need to stump up a wedge if you’re thinking of making a bee-line for the bling.

You’ll need to pay a £20,000 deposit in order to bid, which will be handed back to you didn’t seal the deal for the loot.

If you fancy being a fly on the wall instead, you can register your interest to take part as an observer.

Both bidders and observers have to register their interest by midnight on March 1.

Henry VII, who was also grandfather to Elizabeth I, commissioned production of the coin in October 1489.

It would have been hand made in the Royal Mint’s base at the time, in the Tower of London.

It is the largest coin of the Tudor period, measuring 40mm in diameter and weighs 15.3 grammes.

The Royal Mint, which started cashing in on selling rare and historic coins two years ago, has traced ownership of the coin back to the Victorian era.

The treasure was once in the hands of the famous banker J.P. Morgan until his death in 1913.

The chances of this type of coin are “miniscule”, according to Royal Mint Divisional Director of Collector Services Rebecca Morgan, and this particular coin is the “earliest example of a gold Sovereign that a collector can own.”

She added: “We set the record for the sale of a British historic coin at £1 million last year – so who knows, perhaps this might beat the record.”

The British coin, which featured the Queen’s uncle before he abdicated, was the rare coin that was sold for a record-breaking £1 million.

It was snapped up by a private buyer in the UK after the Royal Mint located it with a collector in the US.

The Edward VIII coin is made from 22-carat gold and is one of six that were minted back in 1935 as a trial when the Royal took the throne.

But the coins were never released to the public because he gave up the position of Monarch in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk