An exceptionally rare gold medal proclaiming Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England has joined the historic Tudor, Elizabethan, and early Stuart collections of Crosby Moran Hall in Chelsea, London.

The Supremacy Medal, minted in 1545 by King Henry VIII to commemorate his assumption of the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England, is considered the first English commemorative medal of the Renaissance.

Only five gold versions of The Supremacy Medal are known in the world.

Designed by chief engraver Henry Bayse (or Basse), the medal weighs 61g with a bullion value almost five times higher than the sovereign, the largest English gold coin struck at the time.

The Supremacy Medal was believed to have been given by Henry VIII himself as a diplomatic gift or as an award to his favoured supporters. The medal in the collection of Crosby Moran Hall was also pierced to be worn as a pendant.

More than simply a religious object, The Supremacy Medal was symbolic of a turning point in English history and the reformation of Europe.

The Supremacy Medal at Crosby Moran Hall is now the only known version of the gold medal to exist in private collection, the other four being held in museums.

The front face of the medal shows a portrait of the Tudor King Henry VIII and an inscription in Latin: Henry, eighth king of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, and on Earth, supreme head of the Church of England and Ireland under Christ. The reverse proclaims the king’s title in both Hebrew and Greek, to demonstrate the king’s intellectual command of the original languages of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

This extraordinarily rare medal was acquired from Lugdunum in Switzerland on the 9th of June 2021 from the collection of numismatist and benefactress Martine, Comtesse de Béhague (1870-1939).

Said Dr. Jonas Emmanuel Flueck, Director of Lugdunum,

“It is a great pleasure and satisfaction to know that such an exceptional medal will be in such an exceptional place as Crosby Moran Hall where it will be admired and cherished as it deserves to be.”

Proceeds of the sale will be donated to the reconstruction and restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

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See also https://www.lugdunum-numismatik.com/en/supremacy-medal; The Daily Telegraph, 15 June 2021; Antiques Trade Gazette, 15 June 2021.