A rare Tudor coin is to be auctioned by the Royal Mint with bids opening at £950,000, The Evening Standard reports.

Historic coin experts at the Royal Mint sourced the Type 2 Henry VII sovereign which is one of only a few in the world not held by a museum.

Struck more than 500 years ago, the coin was created to assert the authority of the first Tudor king of England through its splendour, weight and size.

Bids will open at £950,000 when the sought-after coin is put up for auction early next month.

Henry VII, the father of Henry VIII and grandfather to Elizabeth I, started the Tudor dynasty and was determined to cement his position. The coin was commissioned by him to be produced from October 28 1489, more than 500 years ago. It depicts the crowned king seated on a wooden throne, dressed in robes and holding an orb and sceptre. The reverse shows the quartered shield of England upon a Tudor rose.