Mary 1553-1558

As daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary's life was radically disrupted when Henry divorced Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn. He claimed that the marriage was incestuous and illegal, as Catherine had been married to his dead brother, Arthur. The Pope disagreed; in 1534, Henry broke with Rome and established the Church of England.

Henry's allegations of incest effectively bastardised Mary. After Anne Boleyn bore Henry another daughter, Elizabeth, she forbade Mary any access to her parents and stripped her of her title of princess. Mary never saw her mother again.

However, in time Anne also fell out of favour. Henry offered to pardon Mary if she would admit the illegality of his marriage to her mother. Reluctantly, she agreed and Henry rewarded her with a household suitable to her position. In 1544, although still considered illegitimate, she was granted succession to the throne after Edward.

Edward VI succeeded his father in 1547 and, under the protectorate of the Duke of Northumberland, zealously promoted Protestantism. Mary, however, was an equally devout Catholic. When it became clear that Edward was dying, Northumberland made plans for his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, to take the throne in Mary's place.

Upon Edward's death in 1553, Lady Jane Grey was briefly acclaimed queen. The country disagreed. Within days Mary made a triumphal entry into London. Once queen, she was determined to re-impose Catholicism and marry Philip II of Spain V. Neither was popular: Philip was foreign and distrusted and many in England had a vested interest in the Protestant church, having received church lands and money after Henry dissolved the monasteries.

In 1554 Mary crushed a rebellion led by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Making the most of her advantage, she married Philip, restored Catholicism and revived the laws against heresy. Over the next three years, some 300 Protestants burned at the stake, earning her the nickname 'Bloody Mary'. Blamed personally for the slaughter, she and Philip grew increasingly hated. An unsuccessful war lost Calais, England's last toehold in France. Childless, sick and depressed, Mary died in November 1558. Her hopes for a Catholic England died with her.

Mint marks - Pomegranate and half rose

First one of this type we have ever found - used as a halfpenny

Obv Rose

1554 Mary hammered silver 'Base' penny

Monster rare find - 1554-8 Phlip and Mary hammered silver penny -Lis mint mark

Groat (4 pence)

Half groat (2 pence)