Following his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor acceded to the throne on 30 October 1485. Akin to his predecessors, Henry VII sought to symbolise this authority through the currency of his realm.

The obverse of this Class V hammered gold angel of Henry VII’s reign depicts St Michael vanquishing a dragon along with a distinctive crook shape that follows the inscription 'HENRIC'. The reverse of the coin displays an illustration of a ship at sea, a quartered shield representing England and France, a Tudor rose and the letter 'H' flanking the mast. The inscription reads 'PER xx CRVCE' x TVR x SALV xx NOS xx XPE' x RED'x', with ‘SALVA’ a notable and unlisted variation of ‘SALV’.