Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 50-51 15 Oct 2020
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Elizabeth I, sixth issue, angel, mm. anchor over key/anchor (1599-1600), beaded inner circles, St. Michael slaying the dragon, ELIZABETH D G ANG FR ET HIB REGINA, rev. ship bearing shield, sailing r., without bowsprit, cross above, E and rose above, A DNO FACTVM EST ISTVD ET EST MIRABI, pellet stops, wt. 5.13gms. (S.2531; N.2005; Schneider -; Brown & Comber C46), extremely fine and exceedingly rare
*ex V. M. Brand, collection widely dispersed from 1932
R. C. Lockett II, Glendining, 11 October 1956, lot 1967
Sotheby's, 24 March 1988, lot 704
Lanz, 5 January 2009, lot 196
This rare mint mark is not represented in the Schneider Collection.
Although the defeat of the Spanish Armada remains the signal military event of Elizabeth's reign, it is also true that her kingdom was long threatened internally, particularly by the possibility of an Irish rebellion. So-called risings in Wales, Ireland and Scotland were endlessly troublesome in the early years of the reign, often backed by the Spanish king, who had been eager to place Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne and to restore Catholicism. Mary's execution in 1587 quelled the rebels' ardour for some years afterward, until Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, raised an Irish army in 1599. It was poorly organized and got nowhere. Early in 1601 he made another attempt, known to history as Essex's Revolt, which also failed, but the very fact of this attempt to overthrow the queen was only possible because the final years of the reign were sour times-poor harvests, the unending war with Spain as a fiscal drain of the treasury, and the growing Puritan movement. Elizabeth was viewed by some of her subjects as old and consequently less powerful than in her early years. Old she was, but her army crushed the Irish rebellion and she executed Essex by beheading at the Tower on 25 February 1601. The following November she delivered what has been labelled her 'golden speech' to the members of Parliament. Street balladeers called her 'the great lionness' even in her final decline. Her fame would never diminish. Coins such as this beautiful golden angel, with this 'set' of initial marks, boasting both a steady fineness and the queen's name, were newly in circulation at this same time. If history may be fancifully touched, it is by coins such as this!
(8000-10000 GBP)
*ex V. M. Brand, collection widely dispersed from 1932
R. C. Lockett II, Glendining, 11 October 1956, lot 1967
Sotheby's, 24 March 1988, lot 704
Lanz, 5 January 2009, lot 196
This rare mint mark is not represented in the Schneider Collection.
Although the defeat of the Spanish Armada remains the signal military event of Elizabeth's reign, it is also true that her kingdom was long threatened internally, particularly by the possibility of an Irish rebellion. So-called risings in Wales, Ireland and Scotland were endlessly troublesome in the early years of the reign, often backed by the Spanish king, who had been eager to place Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne and to restore Catholicism. Mary's execution in 1587 quelled the rebels' ardour for some years afterward, until Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, raised an Irish army in 1599. It was poorly organized and got nowhere. Early in 1601 he made another attempt, known to history as Essex's Revolt, which also failed, but the very fact of this attempt to overthrow the queen was only possible because the final years of the reign were sour times-poor harvests, the unending war with Spain as a fiscal drain of the treasury, and the growing Puritan movement. Elizabeth was viewed by some of her subjects as old and consequently less powerful than in her early years. Old she was, but her army crushed the Irish rebellion and she executed Essex by beheading at the Tower on 25 February 1601. The following November she delivered what has been labelled her 'golden speech' to the members of Parliament. Street balladeers called her 'the great lionness' even in her final decline. Her fame would never diminish. Coins such as this beautiful golden angel, with this 'set' of initial marks, boasting both a steady fineness and the queen's name, were newly in circulation at this same time. If history may be fancifully touched, it is by coins such as this!
(8000-10000 GBP)