St. James's Auctions
Auction 48 23 Sep 2021
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Elizabeth I, second issue, sovereign, mm. cross crosslet (1561-65), queen enthroned holding orb and sceptre, portcullis at feet, tressure unbroken by throne, back of throne and uprights decorated with pellets, ELIZABETH D G ANG FRA ET HIBE REGINA, rev. shield of arms on Tudor rose, A DNO FACTV EST ISTVD ET EST MIRAB IN OCVLIS NRIS, pellet stops, wt. 15.28gms. (S.2512; N.1978; Schneider 730; Brown & Comber A5), very fine with unusually even sharpness of detail including on the reverse shield, struck on a full broad flan and consequently displaying bold legends, choice for the grade, and rare
*ex G. W. Shaw, Sotheby, 21 July 1924
V. J. E. Ryan, Part I, Glendining, 28-30 June 1950, lot 269
Whilst the 'fine sovereign' continued the style of Elizabeth's predecessors, during this reign it bloomed, appearing in a variety of subtly different forms; its reverse legend, first seen in the previous reign as the motto of a devout Catholic queen, translated from Latin to mean 'This is the work of the Lord and it is marvellous in our eyes' (from Psalm 118). The always sagacious Elizabeth saw it as a statement of her own Christian faith without, however, a direct connection to the Catholicism which had split the kingdom so disastrously. It was but one of numerous examples of what has been called the queen's via media. Elizabeth never revealed the exact nature of her own faith and thus remained both aloof and protected from all internal enemies. Few monarchs through our long history have been so clever. At precisely the time this largest gold coin of the kingdom was being struck, bearing the cross-crosslet initial mark, an erstwhile employee of the mint at Paris escaped his creditors and arrived in London. His talents were superior and fast recognised. Eloy (or Eloye) Mestrelle took up residence at the Royal Mint, charged with implementing advances in the quality of the coinage through his version of the rolling mill and the use of his various pieces of minting equipment, brought from Paris. By the end of 1561 he showed that he could create beautiful coins made of fine silver that were neatly round and displayed elegant lettering and an impressive image of the queen. Dies were engraved by Derek Anthony but Mestrelle's use of the horse-powered screw-press clearly amplified the ultimate direction the coinage would take-the coins being finer than any previously made at the Royal Mint. But the equipment was designed for smaller coins than the massive 'fine sovereign' which continued to be hammered out in the traditional fashion. One quality of the coins that Mestrelle made far better than ever in the past was the sharpness and consistency of the legends near the rims. These had never been uniformly sharp when hammered. If we look at the legends on the beautiful coin in this lot, it becomes apparent that the minters hammering out this piece did their best to try to equal what Mestrelle accomplished-legends boldly declaring the force of the monarchy and its faith in God. Other coins in this wonderful collection sometimes are this coin's equal in sharpness, but they too are exceptions and they are mostly of later periods-not struck at just this time when the hammering method was being compared to an innovation of manufacture.
(20000-25000 GBP)
*ex G. W. Shaw, Sotheby, 21 July 1924
V. J. E. Ryan, Part I, Glendining, 28-30 June 1950, lot 269
Whilst the 'fine sovereign' continued the style of Elizabeth's predecessors, during this reign it bloomed, appearing in a variety of subtly different forms; its reverse legend, first seen in the previous reign as the motto of a devout Catholic queen, translated from Latin to mean 'This is the work of the Lord and it is marvellous in our eyes' (from Psalm 118). The always sagacious Elizabeth saw it as a statement of her own Christian faith without, however, a direct connection to the Catholicism which had split the kingdom so disastrously. It was but one of numerous examples of what has been called the queen's via media. Elizabeth never revealed the exact nature of her own faith and thus remained both aloof and protected from all internal enemies. Few monarchs through our long history have been so clever. At precisely the time this largest gold coin of the kingdom was being struck, bearing the cross-crosslet initial mark, an erstwhile employee of the mint at Paris escaped his creditors and arrived in London. His talents were superior and fast recognised. Eloy (or Eloye) Mestrelle took up residence at the Royal Mint, charged with implementing advances in the quality of the coinage through his version of the rolling mill and the use of his various pieces of minting equipment, brought from Paris. By the end of 1561 he showed that he could create beautiful coins made of fine silver that were neatly round and displayed elegant lettering and an impressive image of the queen. Dies were engraved by Derek Anthony but Mestrelle's use of the horse-powered screw-press clearly amplified the ultimate direction the coinage would take-the coins being finer than any previously made at the Royal Mint. But the equipment was designed for smaller coins than the massive 'fine sovereign' which continued to be hammered out in the traditional fashion. One quality of the coins that Mestrelle made far better than ever in the past was the sharpness and consistency of the legends near the rims. These had never been uniformly sharp when hammered. If we look at the legends on the beautiful coin in this lot, it becomes apparent that the minters hammering out this piece did their best to try to equal what Mestrelle accomplished-legends boldly declaring the force of the monarchy and its faith in God. Other coins in this wonderful collection sometimes are this coin's equal in sharpness, but they too are exceptions and they are mostly of later periods-not struck at just this time when the hammering method was being compared to an innovation of manufacture.
(20000-25000 GBP)