Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) Read about
Elizabeth I
**** An indication as to the
way the market has moved over the last few years for Elizabeth 1st
coinage. ****
“85% of Mestrelle’s meagre
experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed
sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings
and the gold coinage.”
Sixpences
WTH-8007: 1561 Elizabeth 1st Milled
or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence.
"Milled" coinage, initial mark Star, dated 1561, this being
the very first dated
Ex John Newman (his
ticket)
WTH-7457: 1564/2 Elizabeth 1st MILLED
or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Milled issue,
initial mark Star, Spink 2598, Borden & Brown 33 02 R1.
A rare example of an overdate in the milled series. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings,
groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and
the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all non
1562 milled coins are. I don't tend to
buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7834: 1564/3
Elizabeth 1st MILLED or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Initial
mark Star, bust D, Spink 2598. A rare example of an overdate in the milled series. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s meagre
experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings,
groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and
the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all
non 1562 milled coins are. I don't tend
to buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7835: 1567 Elizabeth
1st MILLED or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Lis, Spink 2599. A rare example of an overdate in the milled series. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s meagre
experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings,
groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and
the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all
non 1562 milled coins are. I don't tend
to buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near completion
of the recoinage on
WTH-7907:
1567 Elizabeth 1st MILLED
or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Lis, Spink
2599. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all non
1562 milled coins are. I don't tend to
buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7881:
1567 Elizabeth
1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent Provenance. Initial mark lis, small crude bust, Spink 2599. Borden & Brown 37 (O1/R1) - type 7c. Old ex mount mark obverse
WTH-7882:
1567 Elizabeth
1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent Provenance. Initial mark lis, small crude bust, Spink 2599. Borden & Brown 37 (O1/R1) - type 7c. The following, which I highlight at the top
of the Elizabeth 1st page, is fact:
“85% of Mestrelle’s meagre experimental machine-made coins were
sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15%
for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences,
halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1567 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous (I don't tend to buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are
invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth
1st herself visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the
occasion of the near completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7883:
1567 Elizabeth
1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent Provenance. Initial mark lis, small crude bust, Spink 2599. Borden & Brown 37 (O1/R1) - type 7c. The following, which I highlight at the top
of the Elizabeth 1st page, is fact:
“85% of Mestrelle’s meagre experimental machine-made coins were
sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15%
for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences,
halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1567 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7884:
1568/7
Elizabeth 1st Milled or Machine-Pressed Silver Sixpence with Excellent
Provenance. Initial
mark lis, small crude bust, Spink 2599. Borden & Brown 40 (O2/R1) - type 7c, this
exact coin cited and illustrated. The
following, which I highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st page,
is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1568/7 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7836: 1568/7
Elizabeth 1st MILLED or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Lis, Spink 2599. A rare example of an overdate in
the milled series. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings,
groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and
the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all
non 1562 milled coins are. I don't tend
to buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7837: 1568/7
Elizabeth 1st MILLED or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Lis, Spink 2599. A rare example of an overdate in
the milled series. When you consider that “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562.
This leaves 15% for all the other Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings,
groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and
the gold coinage”, you gain an insight into just how rare all
non 1562 milled coins are. I don't tend
to buy 1562 machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself visited
both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near completion
of the recoinage on
WTH-7648:
1568/7 Elizabeth 1st MILLED
or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Small bust with ear showing,
initial mark Lis, Spink 2599. A much rarer year although I’ve just, for the
very first time, noticed that Spink rate 1568 as commoner than 1562!! Now Spink’s price
guide has many strange anomalies riddled throughout (I’m being diplomatic!) but
I have to say, this one may well take the biscuit! I don’t take too much notice of Spink pricing
as it’s all very general, based on the commonest variety (ie there are more
than x10 different varieties for 1651 Commonwealth shillings but Spink only
give one price, which will be for the very commonest of those date varieties)
and nearly always priced too low, which is probably why I’ve never noticed this
62 v’s 68 thing before. It should always be remembered that Spink is
just a guide, not a set-in-stone-bible, although the differentials
between varieties should be reasonably accurate, which is definitely NOT the
case here. The following,
which I highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st page, is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s meagre
experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1568 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-7801:
1568/7 Elizabeth
1st Machine Screw-Press Silver Sixpence. Small bust with ear showing, initial mark Lis, Spink 2599. A
much rarer year although I’ve just, for the very first time, noticed that Spink
rate 1568 as commoner than 1562!! Now Spink’s price guide has many strange anomalies riddled
throughout (I’m being diplomatic!) but I have to say, this one may well take
the biscuit! I don’t take too much
notice of Spink pricing as it’s all very general, based on the commonest
variety (ie there are more than x10 different varieties for 1651 Commonwealth
shillings but Spink only give one price, which will be for the very commonest
of those date varieties) and nearly always priced too low, which is probably
why I’ve never noticed this 62 v’s 68 thing
before. It should always be remembered
that Spink is just a guide, not a set-in-stone-bible, although the
differentials between varieties should be reasonably accurate, which is
definitely NOT the case here.
The following, which I highlight at the top of the Elizabeth 1st
page, is fact: “85% of Mestrelle’s
meagre experimental machine-made coins were sixpences dated 1562. This leaves 15% for all the other
Screw-Pressed sixpences, shillings, groats, threepences, halfgroats, threefarthings and the gold coinage.” It doesn’t take a statistician to see that
for Spink to state that a 1568 milled 6d is commoner than a 1562 6d is beyond
ridiculous. (I don't tend to buy 1562
machine pressed sixpences as they are invariably overpriced). Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
WTH-8992: 1571/0 Elizabeth 1st MILLED
or MACHINE PRESSED Silver Sixpence. Large, crude bust with ear showing,
initial mark Castle over Lis, Spink 2600. The rarest date in the
"milled" series by a country mile. Queen Elizabeth 1st herself
visited both mints (Upper & Lower Houses) upon the occasion of the near
completion of the recoinage on
Provenance:
Ex
Seaby (1959)
Ex
R. Carlyon-Britton collection (1971)
Ex
B.R. Noble collection, dispersed through...
Glendining's Auction, 11-12 December 1975, lot 582
Ex
Ex
Chris Comber collection, sold 1986 to...
Ex
Walter Wilkinson collection dispersed through...
DNW
Auction 148,
Threepences
WTH-7802:
1562 Elizabeth
1st Machine Screw-Press Silver Threepence. Tall bust with no ear showing, initial mark
Star, medium rose, Spink 2603. A much rarer denomination
with only x4 different dates. I
again refer the reader to the factual statement at the top of the Elizabeth 1st
page, highlighted in yellow, which will comprehensively illustrate just how
rare this denomination is. Spink sold a similar
example some time ago for £1,140 after commissions. It should be noted that in that auction,
Spink misidentified the coin by attributing it as Spink 2604. It was Spink 2603. Probably only the 3rd threepence I have ever had.
£535 RESERVED
(M.He.26-6-23 LayAway)
Halfcrowns
WTH-7690:
1601 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Halfcrown. Seventh issue, Spink 2583.
The Edward VI crowns and halfcrowns – primarily just eye-catching big
coins to promote Edward’s restoration of the sterling standard (after Henry VIII’s escapades) in 1551 – didn’t really take off. The German thaler,
which was introduced actually before Elizabeth 1st was even born,
and the Spanish dollar or piece of eight, was brought to the attention of the
English mint towards the very end of the reign as a bullion coin for use with
the East India Company. Prior to 1600,
the company had used foreign coinage and then the testern
or Portcullis pieces for transportation of bullion, neither of which were well
received by the monarchy, particularly the latter as it did not bear the
queen’s portrait. The large flans of
these new crowns and halfcrowns were ideal for the engraver Charles Anthony to
display his ionic portrait which pleased the queen enormously compared to the
non portrait testerns. This was either luck or great foresight as
within 50 years, the halfcrown was the principle circulating coin in the
English economy! An interesting die
variation with the sceptre pointing to the I of
Shillings
WTH-8991: Very Rare Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver FIRST ISSUE Shilling.
Wire inner circles only, bust 1B (Brown bust 2), initial mark Lis:
Provenance:
Ex
Herbert Muspratt Lingford
collection (purchased March 1949)
Ex
Chris Comber collection
Ex
Tim Owen
WTH-7471: 1594-96 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Shilling. Sixth Issue, initial mark Woolpack, Spink 2577. Bust 6B. Scratches to the face (deliberate, contemporary graffiti) otherwise a good, solid example of a scarcer denomination. £325
WTH-7905:
Elizabeth 1st
Early Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial
mark Cross Crosslet, bust 3C, second issue, Spink 2555. Second issue Cross Crosslet hammered shillings were
only struck for a total of 10 months (1st December 1560 to 24th October 1561)
– interestingly, there was a 20 odd year hiatus before shillings were once again
issued under Elizabeth 1st. Minimal wear
on this coin - shillings upwards were extremely hard to prepare dies for. The legends bit was relatively easy but to
cut a die with a view to getting a portrait onto a large piece of silver, using
the hammering process, what a remarkably difficult undertaking and one that
perhaps defeated the die sinkers most of the time. £445
Sixpences
WTH-7955:
Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver UNDATED Sixpence. Initial mark Lion, 1567, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2562A. Comber, Wilkinson & Brown (2006, updated
2012) in their seminal publication on Elizabethan coinage list only three
examples recorded, one of which is held by the
WTH-7456: 156Z/1 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Third &
Fourth issues, initial mark Pheon, Spink 2561.
1562 as a date represents a frequency of 1.8% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.4% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. 1562 is the nineteenth
rarest of all forty two dates. An interesting die.
You might be thinking this was an error (a Z for a 2) but you’d be
wrong. 1561 was a huge year for sixpence
output, there being x17 different dies in use with several more prepared in
case they needed them. They didn’t and
so when 1562 happened, one or two of those x17 dies that hadn’t broken were
recycled, along with the unused 1561 “reserve” dies. They decided a Z made a better number 2 until
they saw sense. There are fewer 156Z/1
dies recorded than straight 62 dies.
£265
WTH-7831: 1563/2 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial
mark Pheon, third & fourth issue. Spink 2561. This date
only ever occurs as an overdate - they clearly had a lot of functional dies
left over from 1562 which they adapted / recycled to make 1563 dies. An unusual triple vertical
dot arrangement after
WTH-8116: 1563/2 Elizabeth 1st Tudor
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Pheon, third & fourth issue. Spink 2561. This
date only ever occurs as an overdate - they clearly had a lot of functional
dies left over from 1562 which they adapted / recycled to make 1563 dies. An unusual triple vertical
dot arrangement after
WTH-7459: 1564 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Sixpence. Third &
Fourth issues, initial mark Pheon, Spink 2561b.
1564 (all varieties) as a date represents a frequency of 2.2% for the
2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.8% for all 5,588
recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins, but you also need to be aware that there
are x14 recorded examples of all 1564 dies and ONLY ONE OF
THOSE IS A STRAIGHT 64!! This is
a very rare coin and hugely underrated by most people. £245
WTH-7460: 1565 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Third &
Fourth issues, initial mark Rose, Spink 2561b.
Old tickets here. 1565 as a date represents a frequency of 3.8%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.5% for all 5,588
recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
There was some impressive die life this year – only x5 dies are recorded
compared to way more for previous years.
Also, even though 64 was a huge year where they must have had many left
over dies, either partly used or reserve dies, there are no overdates for
1565. £175
WTH-7316:
1565 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Third and fourth issue, initial mark Pheon,
1F bust variety – Spink 2561. Only
five recorded dies. 1565 as a date
represents a frequency of 3.8% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 2.5% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. £125
WTH-7832: 1565 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Rose
(started late 1565: 1st October), third & fourth issue. Spink 2561. This date
only ever occurs as a straight 65 - they clearly had no functional dies left
over from 1564 with which they could adapt / recycle to make 1565 dies. This is even more
impressive when you learn that virtually all 1564 coins were recycled from old
1562 dies! They had clearly got their
act together after the fiasco of 1562 when they had dies by the bucket full
that went unused that year. 1565 as a
date represents a frequency of 3.8% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.5% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. It's a date you don't come across that often
these days. £235
WTH-7462: 1567 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Sixpence. Third &
Fourth issues, initial mark Coronet, Spink 2562.
1567 as a date represents a frequency of 6.6% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 4.8% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. £235
WTH-7705:
1568 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Third issue, initial mark Coronet, Spink 2562. Ex C. Martin 1981, ex Chris
Comber collection. 1568 as a date
represents a frequency of 4.6% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 5.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. Outstanding grade. £285
WTH-7772:
1572 Elizabeth
1st Tudor Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Ermine, bust 4B, third & fourth issues, Spink
2562. This is an example of the UNCORRECTED
die sinker’s error of the 2 in the date being both reversed and
inverted. Several recorded errors were
made on various Elizabethan dies but I think this is the most unforgivable
because even if you were illiterate, you’d surely notice an upside down,
reversed 2 and if you didn’t, then surely the quality control people would flag
it up?! And for it to then go into
production to not only strike coinage but for that coinage to then be deemed
correct and good enough for distribution into general circulation…???!!! It doesn’t seem possible but it certainly
happened. It obviously was quickly
discovered and corrected because coins exist that are normal 2 struck over this
inverted 2 die. Ex
Arthur Fitts’ collection. £275
WTH-7464: 1573 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Sixpence. Third &
Fourth issues, initial mark Acorn, Spink 2563.
1573 as a date represents a frequency of 4.6% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 5.3% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. £185
WTH-7959:
1574 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Initial mark obverse Eglantine; reverse Eglantine over Acorn. One of the clearest initial mark
counterstamps you're ever likely to see.
Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink 2563. What is of great interest here is the obverse
initial mark, it being originally an Acorn reverse die (
WTH-7958:
1575 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Initial mark obverse Eglantine over Ermine; reverse Eglantine. Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink
2563. There is no evidence of this date
being 1575/2 as suggested in one of the unidentified tickets and indeed, that
combination currently does not exist as a recorded overdate. What is of great interest is the obverse
initial mark, it being originally an Ermine die (
WTH-7706:
1576 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Third issue, initial mark Eglantine, Spink 2563. 1576 as a date represents a frequency of 0.8%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.0% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1576 is the
sixteenth rarest of all forty two dates. Strong reverse, especially
date. £125
WTH-8117: 1576
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Third issue, initial mark
Eglantine, Spink 2563. 1576 as a
date represents a frequency of 0.8% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.0% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard
coins. 1576 is the sixteenth rarest of all forty two dates. A very good grade coin with
minor reverse graffiti. £295
WTH-7957:
1577/6 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Eglantine, Bust 5A, Third & Fourth issues, Spink
2563. The overdate couldn't be
clearer. It may be of interest to read
that this is such a rare date that there are only these 1577/6 overdates
recorded, ie there are literally no straight 1577 coins, meaning that all 1577
sixpence reverse dies were recycled from earlier years. 1577 as a date represents a frequency of 0.4%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.4% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1577 is the sixth
rarest of all forty two dates.
Nice grade and attractively toned thus a very rare coin. Ex Chris Comber
collection. £465 RESERVED (M.He.16-1-24 LayAway)
WTH-7599:
1577/6
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Initial mark Eglantine, third & fourth issues,
Spink 2563. 1577 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 0.4% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1577 is the sixth rarest of all forty two dates. Whilst you can’t argue with the data, I would
have placed 1577 at more like 4th or 5th, but that’s clearly
anecdotal. Interestingly, 1577, and to a
lesser extent, 1576, are often thought of as common dates as they are both completely
surrounded by commoner dates on a graph of extant recorded examples. Interestingly, 1577 does not exist as a
straight 77 – they are all overstruck on old recycled 1576 dies. It is telling that very few 1577 sixpences
were actually struck as they were winding down the Fourth coinage: not only is
there a Fifth coinage 1578/7 variety (showing that they did actually produce a
straight 1577 but didn’t use it), but there is also a Fifth coinage 1578/7/6
variety showing that the 1577/6 was clearly only used sparingly in 1577 as it
was still viable in 1578, albeit with yet another alteration. A very rare coin. £425
WTH-7804:
1580
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence
Fifth issue, initial mark Latin or Long Cross, which was in use 1st
June 1580 to 31st December 1581 so much more prevalent of 1581
coins. Further, there are overdates
recorded – 1580/79, of which this coin is decidedly not – so it’s a fair
assumption to date this coin to the latter months of the second half of
1580. Interestingly, no 1580 dies were
recycled post this date. Likely to have
been part of a hoard at some point as the coin has been historically cleaned
and the grade is outstanding. Note the
reverse, which as good as you’ll ever see on one of these. The coin is probably not far off “as struck”
with the obverse being a tad under-struck, coupled with some slight double
striking. Even taking grade out of the
equation, this is a particularly well made specimen, especially as 1580 is at
the point where quality of the dies and the actual end product started to fall
off the cliff! There is a scratch to the
neck which could be as a result of recovery from the ground, or perhaps a test
scratch to ascertain authenticity because the coin was probably a stand-out
example when it hit the streets. Just
speculation, though. 1580 as a date
represents a frequency of 3.7% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 4.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. Spink 2572. A very desirable coin. £375 RESERVED
(M.He.4-7-23 LayAway)
WTH-7670:
1580 over 1579
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Fifth coinage, bust 5A, initial mark Latin Cross, Spink 2572.
Overdates, with altered initial marks, are found because too many dies
were sunk in a year where less coinage was struck that was originally expected,
often down to availability of bullion.
These old dies were effectively recycled up to three years later. It is interesting to note that although
changing the initial mark was obligatory, in line with the various pyx inspections, the date was not required to be
changed. They are actually quite rare in
all coinages, but specifically for the fifth coinage, it only really happened
three times. When you think that 79 to
be changed to 80 would have been twice the work, you begin to wonder why they
bothered changing the date at all. The
overdate on this coin is very clear. 1580
as a date represents a frequency of 3.7% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 4.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. £225
WTH-7572: 1585 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Sixpence. Initial
mark Escallop, sixth issue. Only
a single 1585 die recorded – two future overdates (1586/5 and 1587/6/5) are
recorded which were basically recycled dies from previous years, ie they made
more 1585 dies than they actually used. 1585
as a date represents a frequency of 1.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard
coins. 1585 is the twentieth rarest of all forty two dates. £145
WTH-7956:
1587/6/5
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Initial mark Crescent, Bust 5B, Sixth issue, Spink
2578. This is the much rarer 7
over 6 over 5 overdate (there is evidence of a high
5's lower crescent), this being a recorded overdate, along with the
1587/6. Both overdates are equally rare
with the straight 87 being most commonly encountered. 1587 as a date represents a frequency of 0.9%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.0% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1587 is the
twelfth rarest of all forty two dates, but do please bear in
mind that 12th rarest is for a straight, non overdate 1587. Ex Lingford
collection, purchased from Lingford by
WTH-7707:
1588 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark
Crescent, Spink 2578A. 1588 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 0.2% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1588 is the fourth rarest of all forty two dates. The famous Spanish Armada date and although
only 4th rarest in the “league table”, this date is arguably the
most sought after of all dates. If you
check prices in previous (proper) coin auctions, you’ll see some very high
prices, especially in the States, and don’t forget there’s 30% buyer’s
commission on top of those prices.
Interestingly, this coin looks to have been a 15-- die where the final 8
has been added, presumably because this was a time of austerity where
relatively few coins were struck; the thought being that these dies could be
used over several years without the need to overdate. I have since bought a 1588 6d (WTH-7833) where both number 8s
look t have bee added to a 15-- die. £425
RESERVED
(M.H.21-3-23 Lay-Away)
WTH-8118: Unrecorded 1588 - final 8
over sideways 8 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence.
Sixth issue, initial mark Crescent, Spink 2578A. Note the two 8's are low down, indicating
both final digits were added to a finished 15-- die. In some instances, only the final 8 has been
added to a 158- die. This was a time of
austerity where relatively few coins were struck; the thought being that these
dies could be used over several years without the need to overdate. However, much more important is the final 8,
it being overstruck over a sideways 8.
Messrs. Brown, Comber & Wilkinson, the undisputed leading experts on
all things numismatically linked to Elizabeth 1st, in their research paper
(published 2006, updated 2012), state that there is but a single 1588 variety
recorded - of all the other dates in this series (1561 - 1602), 1597 and 1588
are the only dates to have a single type, everything else having multiple
dates, overdates, various errors etc, etc.
And yet this coin is ex Chris Comber collection - clearly
an addition to his collection (all three of them were actively adding to their
collection right up until the end) post the 2012 update to their research. Completely
unrecorded and unique at this point in time. Interestingly, the same employee at the mint
who thought a sideways 8 was a good idea to add to a 15-- die was probably
still employed in 1589 when he again thought a sideways 9 was an equally good
and acceptable idea! 1580 also has an 8
over a sideways 8. After 1589, no more
errors of this nature are recorded thus we can assume that he was either cured
of his sideways view on things or moved out!
1588 as a date represents a frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.2% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. 1588 is the fourth rarest of all
forty two dates. The
famous Spanish Armada date and although only 4th rarest in the
“league table”, this date is arguably the most sought after of all dates. A very important coin. £645
WTH-8119: 1589 - final 9 over
sideways 9 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence.
Sixth issue, initial mark Crescent, Spink 2578A. Note the two 9's are actually level with the
15 although both final digits were added to a finished 15-- die. In some instances, only the final digit was
added to a 158- die. This was a time of
austerity where relatively few coins were struck; the thought being that these
dies could be used over several years without the need to overdate. However, much more important is the final 9,
it being overstruck over a sideways 9 and further, that upright 9 was struck
over another upright 9. Messrs. Brown,
Comber & Wilkinson, the undisputed leading experts on all things numismatically
linked to Elizabeth 1st, in their research paper (published 2006, updated 2012), do record this sideways 9 but not the second upright
9. Interestingly, the same employee at
the mint who thought a sideways 9 was a good idea to add to a 15-- die was probably
the same one who in 1588 thought a sideways 8 was an equally good and
acceptable idea! 1580 also has an 8 over
a sideways 8. After 1589, no more errors
of this nature are recorded thus we can assume that he was either cured of his
sideways view on things or moved out! 1589
as a date represents a frequency of 0.5% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.5% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard
coins. 1589 is the eighth rarest of all forty two dates. Ex Chris Comber collection. £165
WTH-7708:
1589 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark
Crescent, Spink 2578A. 1589 as a
date represents a frequency of 0.5% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.5% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard
coins. 1589 is the seventh rarest of all forty two dates. Very nice grade for such a
late issue. £425 RESERVED (M.H.21-3-23
Lay-Away)
WTH-6713: 1589 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Crescent, sixth issue. Spink 2578A. 1589 as a date represents a frequency of 0.5%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.5% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1589 is the seventh rarest of all
forty two dates. £135
WTH-8121: High Grade 1590 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth
issue, initial mark Hand, Spink 2578B.
1590 as a date represents a frequency of 1.0% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 1.2% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. 1590 is the fourteenth rarest of all
forty two dates. Outstanding grade for a coin so late in the series. Ex Chris Comber collection. £465
WTH-7671:
1591 over 1590
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth coinage, bust 6C,
initial mark Hand, Spink 2578B.
Overdates, with altered initial marks, are found because too many dies
were sunk in a year where less coinage was struck that was originally expected,
often down to availability of bullion.
These old dies were effectively recycled up to three years later. It is interesting to note that although
changing the initial mark was obligatory, in line with the various pyx inspections, the date was not required to be
changed. 1590 changed to 1591 is a
strange one in that most of the 1590 sixpences issued were made from 1589
recycled dies and the rest were from straight 1590 dies. They clearly didn’t issue many straight 1590
coins (it is a rarer year) because the dies were barely used – they took the
1591 dies, seeing they were still fresh, and altered them to produce 1591
coinage. 1591 as a date represents a
frequency of 1.2% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 1.2% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1591 is the fifteenth rarest of all forty two
dates. £255
WTH-7092:
1592 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Tun, sixth issue. Spink 2578B. 1592 as
a date represents a frequency of 2.5% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of
Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.4% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. £95
WTH-7560:
1593 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth
issue, initial mark Tun, bust 6C, Spink 2578B. Sometime cleaned. Ex A. Travis collection. 1593 as a date represents a frequency of 2.5%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.4% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
Only x3 recorded straight 93 dies recorded. These later dates are invariably lower grade
and problematic but this coin is much above average. £275
WTH-7805:
1594 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence
Sixth issue, initial mark Woolpack, which was in use
WTH-7319:
1596 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark Key, Spink 2578B. One of the rare years - 1596 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.7% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 1.0% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1596 is the eleventh rarest of all forty two dates. A grand total of three recorded dies (one of
which is 9/6, another being bereft of any initial mark whatsoever) illustrates
just how rare a year this is. Unusually
for these rare later dates, this coin is actually very nice grade for
issue. £295
WTH-7806:
1596 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence
Sixth issue, initial mark Key, which was in use
WTH-7709:
1597 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark
Key, Spink 2578B. 1597 as a date
represents a frequency of <0.04% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and <0.03% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1597 is the rarest of all forty two dates
*** I have only
had one better through my hands in many, many years. That was the Walter Wilkinson coin which now
forms the backbone of a very impressive, growing collection and definitely not
available. A great
rarity, especially in this grade.
£950
WTH-8122: 1597 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Sixpence. Sixth
issue, initial mark Key, Spink 2578B.
Note the 97 digits are actually lower than they should be, indicating
that both final digits were added to a finished 15-- die. 1597 as a date represents a frequency of
<0.04% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and
<0.03% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1597 is the rarest of all forty two dates
*** A great
rarity. £525
WTH-8030:
1598 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Anchor, Sixth issue, Spink 2578B. 1598 as a date represents a frequency of 0.1%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.1% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
*** 1598 is the
second rarest of all forty two dates *** There
was an economic depression during the final years of the sixteenth century, a
factor hugely relevant in the rarity of this coin. This led to a situation where there was an
oversupply of dies. 1598 exists only as
a straight 1598 but the dies were used in subsequent years because so few coins
were struck in 1598 that the existing dies were still fresh as a daisy! We see later 1599/8/6 and 1599/8 coins to
illustrate this. The more astute among
you may well be wondering how a 1598 coin can have an anchor as an initial mark
when anchor was
WTH-8031:
1599/8 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark a straight Anchor, Sixth issue, Spink 2578B. 1599 as a date represents a frequency of 0.2%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.1% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
*** 1599 is the
third rarest of all forty two dates *** There was an economic depression during the
final years of the sixteenth century, a factor hugely relevant in the rarity of
this coin. This led to a situation where
there was an oversupply of dies, resulting in date alterations (we see
1599/8/6, 99/8 [this coin] and 99/6).
This scenario only started in 1598 as prior to that date, we see very
little, if any overdating – even 1597 was a straight
date. More interesting still, this coin
is an unrecorded 1599 (large final 9) over 1599 (small final 9) over 1598. One die is recorded where BOTH the 9 and 8 of
the date were overstruck with a large 9 punch but this is just the final digit
and a smaller 9 is indicated in terms of the trailing tail. I have to say that this trailing tail may or
may not be a small 9 but even if it isn't, this is still unrecorded in that
only a single large 9 was used. Ex Ewerby Hoard. Not
a particularly pleasing coin but nevertheless hugely interesting, very rare and
benefiting from coming from that well known, recent hoard – and by the way,
this large hoard was very much made up of worn coins from circulation with
apparently zero consideration given for any part of it to be “nice coins” –
these were the coins available to the individual who put that hoard together at
that time. This 1599/8 is fairly
representative across the board in terms of grade, showing us that the general
coinage in circulation in the 1640’s – the given date of this hoard – was
poor. It’s frustrating when people
demand high grade, choice sixpences and complain that all see are “battered,
low grade” examples. The Chris Comber
and Walter Wilkinson Elizabeth 1st collections had their fair share
of coins looking like this, even after many decades of collecting and
upgrading. A rare
coin. £375
WTH-7600:
1599/8
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Initial mark Anchor over Key, Sixth issue, Spink
2578B. 1599 as a date represents
a frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins
and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1599 is the third rarest of all forty two dates
*** There was an economic
depression during the final years of the sixteenth century, a factor hugely
relevant in the rarity of this coin.
This led to a situation where there was an oversupply of dies, resulting
in not only date alterations (we see 1599/8/6, 99/8 [this coin] and 99/6) but
also initial mark changes, in this case it was Anchor for 1599 overstruck on
Key for 98. This scenario only started
in 1598 as prior to that date, we see very little, if any overdating
– even 1597 was a straight date. More
interesting still, this coin is the rarer AN over KY in ANG error. Ex Ewerby Hoard. Not a particularly pleasing coin but
nevertheless hugely interesting, very rare and benefiting from coming from that
well known, recent hoard – and by the way, this large hoard was very much made
up of worn coins from circulation with apparently zero consideration given for
any part of it to be “nice coins” – these were the coins available to the
individual who put that hoard together at that time. This 1599 is fairly representative across the
board in terms of grade, showing us that the general coinage in circulation in
the 1640’s – the given date of this hoard – was poor. It’s frustrating when people demand high
grade, choice sixpences and complain that all see are “battered, low grade”
examples. The Chris Comber and Walter
Wilkinson Elizabeth 1st collections had their fair share of coins
looking like this, even after many decades of collecting and upgrading. A rare coin. £325 RESERVED (M.H.14-11-22 Lay-Away)
WTH-8993:
1600/159- Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark 0, bust
6B - Spink 2578B. For the vast bulk of
Elizabethan coinage, little or no foresight had been used regarding dates and
initial marks, resulting in glaring overdates when the old dies were used again
(recycled) in subsequent years, for example the famous 1578/7/6. There are many others. The penny dropped at the mint, eventually,
that perhaps sinking dies but omitting initial marks and with only partial
dates (those to be added when the dies were brought into use), might be a good
idea. Amusingly, this practice was
adopted in, wait for it, 1599 - the most inappropriate time possible because
the following year was 1600 with three digits changing as opposed to usually
one and rarely two! Rather than throw
away the prepared 159- "future-proof" dies, they decided to alter the
middle two digits from -59- to -60-. The
first digit (thankfully!) didn't need changing and all they had to do was add the 0 to the end of the date, as well as add the initial
mark in the gap provided. Thus we have
1600 over 159- coins. Interestingly,
these 159- dies were also used in 1601 but even after adding the final digit
and changing the middle two, they discovered that the first and last digits
were so far apart in time that they were actually from different punches and so
different! Demand for English coin was
much in decline at this period so these were tiny mintages: 1600 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1600 is the fifth rarest of all forty two dates. I have to say that I don't see 1600 as being
as abundant as that, and I'm far from the only person saying that. I've offered a handful of 1588 and 1597
sixpences over recent years but checking my records, no 1600 sixpences -
indeed, I had to twist the arm of a very well known collector of Elizabethan
coinage to sell me two examples as I couldn't get them anywhere else! A rare coin indeed. £495
WTH-8994:
1600/159- Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark 0, bust
6B - Spink 2578B. For the vast bulk of
Elizabethan coinage, little or no foresight had been used regarding dates and
initial marks, resulting in glaring overdates when the old dies were used again
(recycled) in subsequent years, for example the famous 1578/7/6. There are many others. The penny dropped at the mint, eventually,
that perhaps sinking dies but omitting initial marks and with only partial
dates (those to be added when the dies were brought into use), might be a good
idea. Amusingly, this practice was
adopted in, wait for it, 1599 - the most inappropriate time possible because the
following year was 1600 with three digits changing as opposed to usually one
and rarely two! Rather than throw away
the prepared 159- "future-proof" dies, they decided to alter the
middle two digits from -59- to -60-. The
first digit (thankfully!) didn't need changing and all they had to do was add the 0 to the end of the date, as well as add the initial
mark in the gap provided. Thus we have
1600 over 159- coins. Interestingly,
these 159- dies were also used in 1601 but even after adding the final digit
and changing the middle two, they discovered that the first and last digits
were so far apart in time that they were actually from different punches and so
different! Demand for English coin was
much in decline at this period so these were tiny mintages: 1600 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1600 is the fifth rarest of all forty two dates. I have to say that I don't see 1600 as being
as abundant as that, and I'm far from the only person saying that. I've offered a handful of 1588 and 1597
sixpences over recent years but checking my records, no 1600 sixpences -
indeed, I had to twist the arm of a very well known collector of Elizabethan
coinage to sell me two examples as I couldn't get them anywhere else! A rare coin indeed. £495 RESERVED (M.He
WTH-7470: 1601 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Seventh Issue,
initial mark 1, Spink 2585. 1601 as a date
represents a frequency of 0.6% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth
1st coins and 0.7% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1601 is the tenth rarest of all forty two dates. These later date coin, and you don’t get much
later than this, other than the obvious, were nearly always poorly struck,
often using dies of a lesser standard compared to the start of the reign. This coin is stunning, easily being the best
grade example I’ve ever had, or probably seen.
If it wasn’t for the damage, it would be a four figure coin. £225 RESERVED (M.He.16-1-24 LayAway)
WTH-7558:
1601 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Seventh issue, initial mark 1, Spink 2584. Toned. Ex Ken Bressett
collection, ex H. Mitchell ($140 twenty years ago). 1601 as a date represents a frequency of 0.6%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.7% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
1601 is the tenth
rarest of all forty two dates.
These later dates are invariably lower grade and problematic but this
coin certainly bucks that trend. £285
WTH-7174:
1602 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence.
Seventh issue, initial mark 2 – the last ever date in the lengthy
Elizabeth 1st sixpence series.
Spink 2585.
1602 as a date represents a frequency of 1.9% for the 2,716 recorded
single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth
1st hoard coins. Sold
with an auction printout as well as a collector’s cabinet ticket. £125
WTH-8123: High Grade 1602 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Seventh issue,
initial mark 2 – the last ever date in the lengthy Elizabeth 1st
sixpence series. Interestingly, the
obverse initial mark 2 is overstruck on an earlier initial mark 1. Spink 2585. 1602 as a date represents a frequency of 1.9%
for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 2.1% for all
5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins.
Outstanding grade for a coin so late in the series. Ex Chris Comber collection. £485
Fourpence-halfpenny
"Counterstamped" issue of 10th Oct to
WTH-8074:
Edward VI Base
Shilling Counterstamped with an Elizabeth 1st Portcullis Revaluation Mark. An Edward VI base shilling
from the Third Period (1551), clear initial mark Lion, the final date letter of
the Roman alphabet clearly shown as L, so MDL or 1550. Counterstamped between 1oth
October 1560 and
Groats
WTH-6798: Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Groat. Initial mark Lis, rarer first
issue. Spink 2551A. These bust 1G first issue hammered groats were only
struck for a very few months – Spring 1560 to
WTH-6723: Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Groat. Initial mark Lis, rarer first
issue. Spink 2551A. These bust 1G first issue hammered groats were only
struck for a very few months – Spring 1560 to
WTH-6572: Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Groat. Initial mark Martlet, bust 1F, second
issue, Spink 2556. Second
issue Martlet hammered groats were only struck for
a total of 10 months (9th December 1560 to 24th October 1561) –
interestingly, the Martlets and Cross Crosslets were
the last hammered groats issued under her reign, even though Elizabeth reigned
for a further 40+ years. £255
WTH-7904:
Elizabeth 1st
Early Hammered Silver Groat or Fourpence. Initial mark Martlet, bust 1F, second issue, Spink 2556. Second issue Martlet hammered
groats were only struck for a total of 10 months (9th December 1560
to 24th October 1561) – interestingly, the Martlets
and Cross Crosslets were the last hammered groats issued under her reign, even
though Elizabeth reigned for a further 40+ years. This is a beautiful coin, being excellent
grade, centrally struck, attractively toned, etc etc. £475
Threepences
WTH-7300:
1561 Elizabeth 1st Rare
Large Flan Hammered Silver Threepence. Third and Fourth Issues of 1561-77, rose
behind Queen, reverse dated. Large
15mm flan (in fact, this one is nearer to 16mm), Spink 2564. Creased and straightened, with some resultant
cracking, as so many of these newly introduced issues were – the public were
still on hightened alert for fakes after the
numismatic escapades of Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, and her bother, Edward
VI, although to be fair, the early issues of Edward VI, extremely debased as
they were, had very little to do with the Edward. It is unusual to see dated threepences for
the 1560’s but they obviously do exist.
1561 was something of a prolific year for threepences BUT, this very
first issue of 1561, in fact the very first Elizabeth 1st threepence issued), with it’s large flan, is represented by
a single die only. Brown, Comber &
Wilkinson postulate that this large flan threepence
was a two month trial period of experimentation. The start date of production was
WTH-6904: 1561 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Tudor Dated Threepence. Third & fourth issues,
Spink 2565. Initial mark pheon – only in use from
WTH-7608:
156Z/1
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Threepence. Third & fourth issues,
initial mark Pheon, Spink 2565. An interesting die. You might be thinking this was an error (a Z
for a 2) but you’d be wrong. 1561 was a
huge year for sixpence output as well as threepences, but not on the same
scale. Like the sixpences, some of the
61 dies that hadn’t broken were recycled, along with the unused 1561 “reserve”
dies. They decided a Z made a better
number 2 – there were no 1562/1 threepences and indeed, there was even a
straight 156Z issued when they’d recycled all the old 1561 dies. It was midway through 1562 that the decision
was taken to change the Z for a proper 2.
This Z for 2 was actually nothing new as the earlier Edward VI crowns
also used a Z for a 2. Sold with an old ticket that (incorrectly) states 156Z/2. A nice grade coin. £135
WTH-7312:
1563 over 2
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Threepence. Third & fourth issues,
initial mark Pheon, Spink 2565. Just like the sixpence, 1563 is one of the
rarest dates in the entire series. There
are only x2 dies recorded by Brown, Comber & Wilkinson (2006) for 1563 and
further, only one of those is this overdate.
Ex Dupree (a well respected collection) and ex Capozollo. A rare coin. £245
WTH-6791: 1564 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Pheon / Broad Arrow. Third and fourth issues, Spink 2565. A rarer date. £95
WTH-7287:
1566 Rare Date
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Tudor Threepence. Initial mark Portcullis. Third and fourth issues,
smaller flan, regular bust, Spink 2565.
Not so rare in sixpences but when you consider that there were only TWO
1566 threepence dies in use, with NO overdates (2006
data), it’s rare in threepences. A general
rule of thumb you may wish to note is that 1560’s Elizabeth 1st
coins, bar sixpences, are rarer. This
date is an extremely rare year. Excellent
grade - much better in the hand than the images suggest, hence the extra cheap
camera phone image I’ve included. £265
WTH-5797: 1567 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Coronet. A rarer pre 1570’s date. Spink 2566. £155
WTH-7418: 1568 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Threepence in Higher Grade. Third and fourth issues (although Wilkinson,
Comber & Brown go further by designated this as Third Coinage only),
initial mark Coronet. Spink
2566. I’ve been asked several
times about the odd looking 8 in 1568 coinage.
It looks for all it’s worth to be an 8 over 7, but in fact they are all
straight 68 dates unless you can see the ghosting of the angled
diagonal of the 7 under the 8. The die
sinkers simply gave the 8 a flat top.
This coin benefits from yet another unusual feather in that the bottom
circle of the 8 is broken! There is a
rarer variety where the flat top of the 8 is on the bottom, ie an inverted 8
but interestingly, this coin is actually rarer than the inverted 8 3d
types! 1568 threepences utilised only
three dies – 68/7 (the 8 being inverted), 68 (the 8 being inverted), and a 1568
with “normal” flat topped 8, meaning the flat topped 8 1568 threepence
is rarer by 2:1. An
interesting coin and much, much better grade than normally seen. £225
WTH-7088:
1570 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Castle, third
and fourth issues, Spink 2566. Ex Eccles collection. £95
WTH-7377: 1571 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Threepence. Third and fourth issues,
initial mark Castle. Spink 2566. A very pleasing example.
£185
WTH-7417: 1572 (2 over inverted 2)
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Threepence. Third and fourth issues (although Wilkinson,
Comber & Brown go further by designated this as Third Coinage only),
initial mark Ermine. Spink
2566. A really
interesting die sinker’s error where the final 2 of the date was originally
inverted or upside down. Quality
control picked up on this (ie someone happened to notice it!) and so rather
than start a new die from scratch, they simply put a correctly orientated 2 over
the top of the error. This is a single
die (you’ll be pleased to hear the mistake was not repeated!) and can be
chronologically attributed to the very first issue of 1572, ie 19th
April onwards. £185
WTH-6669: 1573 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Acorn. Third and fourth issues,
Spink 2566. Acorn was only used
for 6 months in total (
WTH-6649: 1574 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Eglantine. Third and fourth issues,
Spink 2566. Very
nice grade. £139
WTH-7301:
1575/4 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Threepence. Third and fourth issue,
initial mark Eglantine, ear showing.
Spink 2566.
A very nice grade coin but perhaps of more interest is the overdate:
1575/4. Brown, Comber & Wilkinson
published that only a single recorded 75/4 die was known in 2006. In the intervening years, more examples have
been unearthed resulting in x3 dies now being known and a miniscule 9 recorded
examples of this overdate only. For
those interested, Eglantine spanned 29th May 1574 to 13th
July 1578 so it is clear to see what happened – as the year turned to 1575, the
74 Eglantine dies were still good enough to use, thus initial mark Eglantine
was able to remain and a simple date adjustment to the die (although if that’s
all they had to do, you have to question the skill of the die sinker based on
the result!) sufficed. £175
WTH-7249:
1575 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Threepence. Initial mark Eglantine,
third & fourth issues, regular bust, Spink 2566. This particular initial mark was relatively
long-lived, being introduced
WTH-7389:
1576/5 Elizabeth
1st Hammered Silver Tudor Threepence. Initial
mark Eglantine, third & fourth issues. Spink 2566. A rarer year with only one straight 76 die
and this modified 76 over 75 die according to Brown, Comber &
Wilkinson.
£165
WTH-7378: 1579 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Threepence. Fifth issue, initial mark Greek Cross. Spink 2573. Just the
single die pairing being recorded by Comber, Wilkinson & Brown, although there
was another pair prepared which were not used in 1579 but were overdated and used in 1580.
This coin is not far off being as struck, although the obverse strike
quality could have been better. £195
Halfgroats
WTH-7573:
1560-61
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Halfgroat.
Initial mark Martlet, second
issue, Spink 2557. Collectors
will be aware that of all the smaller denominations, the halfgroats suffered
most in terms of clipping, wear and sometimes the quality of actual coinage
leaving the mint. Finding a really nice
halfgroat is virtually impossible whereas pennies, and even the fractions, are
relatively abundant. Sold
with collector’s cabinet ticket together with an information printout. £155
WTH-7313:
1584-86
Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Halfgroat. Sixth issue, initial mark
Escallop, Spink 2579. Collectors
will be aware that of all the smaller denominations, the halfgroats suffered
most in terms of clipping, wear and sometimes the quality of actual coinage
leaving the mint. Finding a really nice
halfgroat is virtually impossible whereas pennies, and even the fractions, are
relatively abundant. £175
WTH-6704: Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Halfgroat. Initial mark 1, penultimate coinage of the seventh issue,
WTH-7488: 1601 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Halfgroat. Seventh issue,
initial mark 1. Spink 2586. Nice grade and sold with a detailed annotated
coin envelope. £125
WTH-7646:
Elizabeth 1st
Tudor Hammered Silver Halfgroat. Seventh and final issue with
initial mark 1 so 1601. Further image here.
WTH-8029: 1560-61 Elizabeth 1st Hammered
Silver Halfgroat. Initial
mark Martlet, second issue, Spink 2557. Collectors will be aware that of all the
smaller denominations, the halfgroats suffered most in terms of clipping, wear
and sometimes the quality of actual coinage leaving the mint. Finding a really nice halfgroat is virtually
impossible whereas pennies, and even the fractions, are relatively
abundant. A really nice example that
evaded the best efforts of the Tudor and Stuart clippers! £185
Three Halfpence
WTH-6970: 1561 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Three Halfpence. Initial mark Pheon –Spink 2569.
1561, although third and fourth issue, is the very
first date ever for this rarer denomination. £135
WTH-6643: 1573 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Three Halfpence – a very rare x2 month only issue. Initial mark Acorn – commenced
operation on
WTH-6825: 1575 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Three Halfpence. Initial mark eglantine.
Spink 2569.
A relatively high grade example of a dated, less common denomination
Elizabeth 1st silver coin. Reported
to be part of an old hoard – I only managed to buy a couple of the coins, the
other being a 1561 three halfpence which is now sold. £185
Pennies
WTH-7360:
Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Penny. Third & fourth issue, initial mark Crescent, 1587-89. Spink 2580. Ex Dr E. Burstall collection.
£69
Three Farthings
WTH-7332:
1561 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Three Farthings. The
three farthings – a bizarre dated fractional denomination – started in 1561 and
ended in 1582 (with just x15 dates used), never to see the numismatic light of
day again. Interestingly, the
Elizabethan public would not have been as flabbergasted at the introduction of
this odd coin as perhaps we are: Irish base coinage was circulating at this
time in England at 25% face value and the earlier English base issue
halfgroats were officially reduced in September 1560 as, wait for it… three
farthings. The public of the day were
well aware of this required fractional calculation. Only three different dies recorded for this
date. Initial mark Pheon,
which didn’t even start production until the end of the year in
WTH-7432: 1562 Elizabeth I Hammered
Silver Three Farthings. Initial mark pheon, third and fourth
coinage. Spink
2571. A very rare date for this
denomination as for the straight 2, there was only the single die in use at the tail end of the year (prior
to this they were using recycled 1561 dies, ie 1562/1). It got so little usage in 1562 that in was
recycled in 1564 (there was no issue of this denomination in 1563) as a
1564/2. The three farthings wasn’t even worth a penny and yet they went to a great
deal of effort to create the dies for this unlikely fractional unit,
incorporating a date and really working on sinking dies on an almost
microscopic level, especially when you consider they only had daylight or
candlelight and with little of today’s magnification techniques. Die sinkers in particular often lost their
eyesight in later life, and of course, “later life” in Tudor times was probably
around 40 or younger! The three farthings – a bizarre dated fractional
denomination – started in 1561 and ended in 1582 (with just x15 dates used),
never to see the numismatic light of day again.
Interestingly, the Elizabethan public would not have been as
flabbergasted at the introduction of this odd coin as perhaps we are: Irish
base coinage was circulating at this time in England at 25% face value and
the earlier English base issue halfgroats were officially reduced in September
1560 as, wait for it… three farthings. The public of the day were well aware of this
required fractional calculation. An
iconic denomination, unique to Elizabeth 1st, £265
WTH-7434: 1575 over 5 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Three Farthings. Initial mark eglantine, third and fourth coinage. Spink 2571. Rare over-date, completely
unrecorded by Comber, Wilkinson. 1575
was a single die year with the same die in use in the following year as a
modified / recycled 1576/5, thus showing that very few 1575 three halfpence
were struck, and a further two 1575 dies, which were prepared but never used in
that year, used in 1578 (1578/5), 1579 (1579/5) and 1581 (1581/75). The three farthings wasn’t
even worth a penny and yet they went to a great deal of effort to create the
dies for this unlikely fractional unit, incorporating a date and really working
on sinking dies on an almost microscopic level, especially when you consider
they only had daylight or candlelight and with little of today’s magnification
techniques. Die sinkers in particular
often lost their eyesight in later life, and of course, “later life” in Tudor
times was probably around 40 or younger!
The three farthings – a bizarre dated
fractional denomination – started in 1561 and ended in 1582 (with just x15
dates used), never to see the numismatic light of day again. Interestingly, the Elizabethan public would
not have been as flabbergasted at the introduction of this odd coin as perhaps
we are: Irish base coinage was circulating at this time in England at 25% face
value and the earlier English base issue halfgroats were officially
reduced in September 1560 as, wait for it… three farthings. The public of the day were well aware of this
required fractional calculation. An iconic denomination, unique to Elizabeth 1st.
£295
Halfpennies
WTH-7497: 1587-89 Elizabeth 1st
Milled Silver Halfpenny. Sixth issue,
initial mark Crescent. Spink 2581. Ex David Rogers’ collection. I had a similar coin from the famous Chris
Comber collection and on his ticket, he had Crescent
down as a “Rare Mark”. For those
collectors interested in marrying up coins with historical events, 1588 is the
date of the Spanish Armada. £145
WTH-7913:
1602 Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Portcullis Halfpenny.
Initial mark 2, seventh issue, Spink 2588. It is interesting to note that the halfpenny was a
late addition to the varied Elizabethan portfolio of denominations, being
introduced post 1582 in the sixth coinage.
Only a single pair of dies was used throughout the reign, and indeed the
same die pair was used very early on under James 1st. During 1601, the obverse die became damaged
and was repaired. All subsequent coins
show the repair (left hand side of the portcullis - no bolt connecting the
third horizontal bar to the second vertical bar), including the James 1st
issue. This coin has no such repair and
so is one of those very interesting contemporary counterfeits. These are superbly done but to be fair, it
was the easiest coin to copy. Ex Chris Comber collection. What a coin! £195
WTH-7951:
Elizabeth 1st
Hammered Silver Portcullis Halfpenny.
Sixth issue, Tower (
WTH-8114: Elizabeth 1st Tudor
Hammered Silver Portcullis Halfpenny. Initial mark Key, sixth issue, 1595-8, Tower mint, Spink 2581. A
tiny coin but not the tiniest - that honour goes to a farthing issued by
“Other”
WTH-7390:
Elizabeth 1st
Queen Under Canopy Copper Jetton or Medalet. Struck under the reign of King James 1st, 1610-15, by Hans Krauwinkel at
WTH-7601:
1589 Elizabeth
1st Jetton – The Defeat of the Spanish Armada. This event is iconic in the annals of Tudor
history. Obviously this happened in 1588
but design, production and distribution takes time. MI 153/128, Eimer
63, Van Loom 388/2. Well toned and
perhaps somewhat harshly graded at GVF. Ex