Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 50-51 15 Oct 2020
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Elizabeth I, countermarked issues, fourpence-halfpenny, on an Edward VI second period shilling, 1549, mm. arrow, countermarked on obverse with a portcullis, wt. 4.59gms. (S.2546; N.1989), an exceptional coin and countermark, good very fine for issue, very rare
*ex Glendining, 11 October 1993, lot 302
SNC, February 1994, lot 225
Spink Auction 124, 18/19 November 1997, lot 1746
Possibly the finest known.
As many collectors know, Henry VIII left his treasury in a terrible state, reflected towards the end of the reign in his numerous debased silver coins. The lack of good metal for coinage continued through the brief reign (1553-58) of his eldest daughter, Mary, whose entire coinage was fairly scant. It seems that Edward VI's last silver coins, struck 1551-53, nearly exhausted the supply of good silver, which had been intended to replace his poorer silver minted in April 1550. As held true throughout our history, many of the citizenry were all too ready to clip or chip away at the coinage, to secure personal profit. Elizabeth immediately sought to rectify the sad condition of her money: her first silver issue (1559-60) was .916 fine, and during 1560 silver of sterling fineness (.925) was introduced, a quality which was held steady throughout the duration of the reign. But old coins continued to circulate, out of necessity. Edward the boy-king's silver must have met with widespread unpopularity when it was issued; often poorly imprinted, what revulsed contemporary users of the money now charms collectors, who see fairly lifelike images of the sad sole male child of Henry VIII. Judging by their rarity today, most clearly found their way to the melting pot. Sir John Craig stated that some of this old silver 'was drawn off' early in 1559 and that by that autumn 'it was decided to withdraw all the rest' (The Mint, p. 118). The effort failed. In August 1559, the mint sent agents to London butcher shops to examine their tills, which revealed that the confusing mixture of old coins remained in use. Meantime, another agent gathered £75,000 worth of old silver in Antwerp and shipped it to London for destruction. The palace issued a proclamation on 27 September 1560 announcing the issuance of new money, and officially revaluing the old silver-for shillings of Edward VI the new official value was set at 4½ pence instead of the nominal 12 pence. Other silver was proportionately revalued. 'To assist people to distinguish between the different degrees of badness of coin, officials were sent round the provinces in October and an office was opened in London to stamp on the 4½d class a portcullis in front of the king's head and on the 2¼d class a greyhound behind it' using 955 punches (Craig, p. 119). These counterstamped coins could then be bought-in by the Mint, which replaced them within 20 days with new coin. This continued during August 1561. 'The withdrawal of these base coins was completed in 1561' (North, vol. 2, p. 19). Any remaining old or badly worn silver was, by proclamation of October 1587, ordered worthless except for intrinsic weight, and official weight-sets were distributed across the kingdom to facilitate withdrawal (Craig, p. 128). The reclaiming of old silver was so nearly 100% effective that very few of the old silver coins remain. Those with counterstamps survived by mere chance, and are truly rare.
(7000-8000 GBP)
*ex Glendining, 11 October 1993, lot 302
SNC, February 1994, lot 225
Spink Auction 124, 18/19 November 1997, lot 1746
Possibly the finest known.
As many collectors know, Henry VIII left his treasury in a terrible state, reflected towards the end of the reign in his numerous debased silver coins. The lack of good metal for coinage continued through the brief reign (1553-58) of his eldest daughter, Mary, whose entire coinage was fairly scant. It seems that Edward VI's last silver coins, struck 1551-53, nearly exhausted the supply of good silver, which had been intended to replace his poorer silver minted in April 1550. As held true throughout our history, many of the citizenry were all too ready to clip or chip away at the coinage, to secure personal profit. Elizabeth immediately sought to rectify the sad condition of her money: her first silver issue (1559-60) was .916 fine, and during 1560 silver of sterling fineness (.925) was introduced, a quality which was held steady throughout the duration of the reign. But old coins continued to circulate, out of necessity. Edward the boy-king's silver must have met with widespread unpopularity when it was issued; often poorly imprinted, what revulsed contemporary users of the money now charms collectors, who see fairly lifelike images of the sad sole male child of Henry VIII. Judging by their rarity today, most clearly found their way to the melting pot. Sir John Craig stated that some of this old silver 'was drawn off' early in 1559 and that by that autumn 'it was decided to withdraw all the rest' (The Mint, p. 118). The effort failed. In August 1559, the mint sent agents to London butcher shops to examine their tills, which revealed that the confusing mixture of old coins remained in use. Meantime, another agent gathered £75,000 worth of old silver in Antwerp and shipped it to London for destruction. The palace issued a proclamation on 27 September 1560 announcing the issuance of new money, and officially revaluing the old silver-for shillings of Edward VI the new official value was set at 4½ pence instead of the nominal 12 pence. Other silver was proportionately revalued. 'To assist people to distinguish between the different degrees of badness of coin, officials were sent round the provinces in October and an office was opened in London to stamp on the 4½d class a portcullis in front of the king's head and on the 2¼d class a greyhound behind it' using 955 punches (Craig, p. 119). These counterstamped coins could then be bought-in by the Mint, which replaced them within 20 days with new coin. This continued during August 1561. 'The withdrawal of these base coins was completed in 1561' (North, vol. 2, p. 19). Any remaining old or badly worn silver was, by proclamation of October 1587, ordered worthless except for intrinsic weight, and official weight-sets were distributed across the kingdom to facilitate withdrawal (Craig, p. 128). The reclaiming of old silver was so nearly 100% effective that very few of the old silver coins remain. Those with counterstamps survived by mere chance, and are truly rare.
(7000-8000 GBP)