Tudors and Stuarts

Since publication of The Galata Guide to Hammered and Milled Threepenny Pieces 1551 – 1662, published in 2016 by Galata, another two obverse dies, 1vi and 2ii, and one reverse die, Bvi, have come to light. These are briefly described here.

For those interested in the coinage of the Commonwealth this reprint from Caesaromagvs, the journal of the Essex Numismatic Society, should prove interesting; it provides an overview of Richard Cromwell.

In 1962 W. J. W. Potter and E. J. Winstanley provided the most recent study of the profile coinage of Henry VII, including the issue of testoons in 1504. Whilst adding provenances of known specimens, CP expanded upon this list and identified a new reverse die in 1968. This short note revisits the die study, removing one obverse die from the corpus and providing illustrations of each of the known obverse and reverse dies and an example of every known die combination.

This article was first published in Caesaromagvs, the Journal of the Essex Numismatic Society, in the Summer of 2018. In the interests of exposing to a wider readership it is being reproduced here by kind permission of the author.

This short note describes an unusual counterfeit base shilling of Edward VI, overstruck using false dies, on a French Gros de Nesle of 1550. The metal content has been analysed and the numbers do not add up. Reusing readymade base coins as blanks for a counterfeit certainly has its merits, but not when making a loss on the silver. The false dies are well made, but contain legends not seen on other genuine coins or contemporary counterfeits. All suggestions gratefully received via this blog.

A previous note provided illustrations of the known official issues of the shillings from the York mint during the Civil War. This note will present details and discuss five known varieties of counterfeit shillings which display the EBOR mintmark. Some of these show quite competent engraving skills, sufficient to allow the die that was copied to be identified.  The contemporary counterfeits showing the EBOR mint signature show letter and design punch links with each other and also with other groups of contemporary counterfeits of provincial mint shillings (Oxford). All specimens of one York die combination show significant flan curvature pointing to manufacture on a roller or cylinder press. Through the Commonwealth and up to the recoinage of 1696/7, increasingly worn and clipped silver coins fell prey to the counterfeiters. The whole topic of the state of the circulating silver coinage in the seventeenth century requires a thorough review in order to place what seems to be a continuous undercurrent of

read more Charles I Shillings of the York Mint (ii) Counterfeits – Gary Oddie

This short note will revisit the shillings issued at the York mint during the civil war. The series has been comprehensively studied and published(1, 2).The dies were engraved by Nicholas Briot and the pieces were made using a roller or cylinder press. This results in a slight ovality and curved flan of some pieces and slight creasing of the metal when they were cut from the strip or subsequently straightened. Misalignment of the silver strip could also lead to coins with partial straight edges. Two pairs of rollers were manufactured, each with five dies engraved on their surface. Briot’s skill as an engraver means that it can be challenging to identify the exact die pair.  Many published illustrations make it difficult to distinguish between certain dies and errors have been found in some catalogues(3). The following pages will provide good illustrations of pieces made by every die pair and die combination. Whilst not original, it is hoped it will be useful.

A possible new type of Charles 1 ” Fine Work ” shilling has appeared in a recent auction and is assessed in this article.

Looking into the breakup of a threepenny piece die at the Aberystwyth mint in the reign of Charles I, and the relevance in the dating of die sequences.