Edward III was the King of England from 1327 to 1377 AD, one of the longest ruling monarchs in English history. During his early reign, he declared himself the rightful king of France and started the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453 AD). The pre-treaty period (1351-1361 AD) refers to the time before the ratification of Treaty of Brétigny, which ended the first phase of the war (the Edwardian phase). The treaty represented an extensive territory gain for England while Edward III renounced his claim to the French throne, establishing a short-lived peace until 1369 AD.
Henry VII was the King of England from 1485 to 1509 AD. He ended the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York and came to the throne as the first Tudor king. Numismatically, Henry VII brought significant changes to the English coinage. He introduced the gold sovereign in 1489 AD, which was the first coin to be valued at one pound in history, as well as the testoon in early 1500s, which then became known as the shilling. Instead of the abstract, representational image that had served for the past centuries, the testoon bore a realistic profile portrait of Henry VII. Such depiction also featured on other denominations including the groat, like this fine example, and the halfgroat, signifying a shift towards a more detailed and realistic style of portraiture on coins thereafter.
