Group of Weapons, &c., preserved in the Tower.
A, inside view of a circular shield, in which is inserted a pistol or short gun; B, breach of pistol; C, fire-match for the purpose of igniting the gunpowder at the touch-hole; D, small grate for the purpose of enabling the bearer to take aim at his opponent; E, barrel; F, spiked mace, called Henry VIII.'s walking-stick: in the head of the mace are four barrels which could be charged with powder, &c.; G, catchbob for taking thieves: the upper part acts with a spring which, after admitting the neck of a culprit, holds it tightly in the circular part; H, cresset carried by the marching watch during the reign of Henry VIII,; I, ancient musket, on a principle similar to the revolvers in use at the present day.
The gold coins of Henry VIII. were sovereigns, half-sovereigns, or rials, half and quarter rials, angels, angelets and half-angels, and quarter-angels, George nobles—so called from bearing on the reverse St. George and the dragon—crowns, and half-crowns. His silver coins were shillings, groats, half-groats, and pennies. Amongst these appeared groats and half-groats coined by Wolsey at York, in accordance with a privilege exercised by the Church long before. In his impeachment it was made a capital charge that he had placed the cardinal's hat on the groats under the king's arms. The groats also bore on each side the arms his initials, "T. W.," and the half-groats "W. A."—Wolsey Archiepiscopus.
We have already stated the scandalous manner in which Henry adulterated the coin, and not only so, but depreciated the value of the silver coins, by coining a much larger number of pennies out of a pound of the base alloy. Before his time the mixed mint pound had consisted of eleven ounces two pennyweights of silver, and eighteen pennyweights of alloy; but Henry, in 1543, altered it to ten ounces of silver and two ounces of alloy. Two years later he added as much alloy as there was silver; and not content with that, in 1546, or one year after, he left only four ounces of silver in the pound, or eight ounces of alloy to the four ounces of silver! But this even did not satisfy him: he next proceeded to coin his base metal into a larger amount than the good metal had ever produced before. Instead of 37s. 6d., or 450 pennies, into which it had been coined ever since the reign of Edward IV., he made it yield 540 pennies, or 45s., in 1527, and in 1543 he extended it to 48s., or 576 pennies. He thus, instead of 450 pennies out of a pound containing eleven ounces two pennyweights of silver, coined 576 pennies out of only four ounces of silver! Such were the lawless robberies which "Bluff Harry" committed on his subjects. Any one of the smallest debasements by a subject would have sent him to the gallows. He certainly was one of the most wholesale issuers of bad money that ever lived.
Artillery of the Tudor period.
Group of Arms of the Tudor period.
1, halberd of the reign of Henry VII.; 2, halberd of the reign of Henry VIII.; 3, a pike; 4, partisan of the time of Henry VIII.; 5 and 6, sword and dagger of James IV. of Scotland; 7, pole-axe of the time of Queen Elizabeth.
