The Historical Context: The Sixth Issue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis coin belongs to the\u00a0Sixth Issue<\/strong>\u00a0of Elizabeth\u2019s reign (minted between\u00a01582 and 1600<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nBy this time, Elizabeth had successfully restored the purity of English silver after the debasement caused by her father, Henry VIII. This tiny coin is struck in full\u00a0Sterling Silver<\/strong>, a standard that established London as a financial hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Coin: Elizabeth I Penny (Sixth Issue)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/England-Elizabeth-I-Penny-combined-1024x591.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Denomination:<\/strong>\u00a0Penny (1d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Monarch:<\/strong>\u00a0Elizabeth I<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Undated (struck c. 1582\u20131600)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mint Mark:<\/strong>\u00a0[Indistinct]<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Metal:<\/strong>\u00a0Sterling Silver<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reference:<\/strong>\u00a0Spink 2575<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The Details:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Obverse:<\/strong>\u00a0A bust of the Queen facing left. Unlike the larger denominations (Sixpence\/Threepence), the Penny does\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0feature a rose behind the head.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reverse:<\/strong>\u00a0The long cross over the shield. The legend reads\u00a0CIVITAS LONDON<\/strong>\u00a0(“City of London”), indicating it was struck at the Tower of London.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Condition & Grading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nHammered pennies are notoriously difficult to grade because they are so small (only 15mm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- The Shape:<\/strong>\u00a0Typical for the era, the coin is slightly irregular (“clipped”), but the essential details remain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Portrait:<\/strong>\u00a0The Queen\u2019s features are worn, which is expected for a coin that likely changed hands thousands of times in the markets of London.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Legend:<\/strong>\u00a0The crucial\u00a0CIVITAS LONDON<\/strong>\u00a0text on the reverse is legible, confirming the attribution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Grade: Good Fine (for issue)<\/strong>
A clear, honest example of the coin that fueled the Elizabethan economy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Verdict<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis coin proves that historical significance isn’t measured in size. At just 15mm across, it is easily overlooked, yet this was the coin of the common people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While we admire the large gold Sovereigns in museums, this silver Penny is the coin that actually built the Elizabethan economy. It likely paid for a loaf of bread, a tankard of ale, or\u2014most evocatively\u2014a “groundling” ticket to see a play at the Globe Theatre. To hold this coin is to hold the literal price of admission to Shakespeare’s London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further Reading & Data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- View Elizabeth I Penny (6th Issue) Specifications on Numista<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Royal Mint Museum: The Great Recoinage of 1560<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No collection of English coins is complete without “The First Lizzie”\u2014Elizabeth I. This tiny hammered silver coin represents the day-to-day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,131,136],"tags":[108,112],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-1068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elizabeth-i-1558-1603","category-coins","category-england-coins","tag-penny","tag-silver"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/England-Elizabeth-I-Penny-combined.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1068"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1070,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions\/1070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwf_post_folders&post=1068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
By this time, Elizabeth had successfully restored the purity of English silver after the debasement caused by her father, Henry VIII. This tiny coin is struck in full\u00a0Sterling Silver<\/strong>, a standard that established London as a financial hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Details:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hammered pennies are notoriously difficult to grade because they are so small (only 15mm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grade: Good Fine (for issue)<\/strong> This coin proves that historical significance isn’t measured in size. At just 15mm across, it is easily overlooked, yet this was the coin of the common people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While we admire the large gold Sovereigns in museums, this silver Penny is the coin that actually built the Elizabethan economy. It likely paid for a loaf of bread, a tankard of ale, or\u2014most evocatively\u2014a “groundling” ticket to see a play at the Globe Theatre. To hold this coin is to hold the literal price of admission to Shakespeare’s London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further Reading & Data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No collection of English coins is complete without “The First Lizzie”\u2014Elizabeth I. This tiny hammered silver coin represents the day-to-day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,131,136],"tags":[108,112],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-1068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elizabeth-i-1558-1603","category-coins","category-england-coins","tag-penny","tag-silver"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/England-Elizabeth-I-Penny-combined.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1068"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1070,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions\/1070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwf_post_folders&post=1068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Coin: Elizabeth I Penny (Sixth Issue)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Condition & Grading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
A clear, honest example of the coin that fueled the Elizabethan economy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Verdict<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n