Mary AD 1553-1554 Silver Groat

Mary AD 1553-1554 Silver Groat

Crowned bust / shield

mm. pomegranate

S2492; 23mm, 1.79g

 

Mary was the eldest, and only, surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Brought up as a Catholic Mary was declared illegitimate when Henry divorced Catherine. When her younger half-brother died in AD 1553 attempts were made to prevent a Catholic succession by declaring that Lady Jane Grey should be queen. The attempt was short lived as Mary rallying her forces rode into London were to popular acclaim she was proclaimed queen.
One of Mary’s first acts was to try and reverse the Reformation and to re-establish the Catholic church. Catholics who were held prisoner were released. To secure a Catholic succession Mary agreed to marry Philip II of Spain but failed to produce an heir. Many prominent Protestants were now imprisoned and several hundred, including Thomas Cramer, Archbishop of Canterbury, were later executed or burnt at the stake.