Halfpenny of Elizabeth I
This is another coin that came in from James. It’s a hammered silver halfpenny of Elizabeth I, which is only 10mm in diameter but is shown greatly enlarged.
On the obverse is a portcullis and on the reverse a cross with three pellets in each angle. A large number of forgeries are known of this denomination so care needs to be taken when buying.
More details on halfpennies are given on page 50 of ‘The Hammered Silver Coins Produced at the Tower Mint During the Reign of Elizabeth I’ by Brown, Comber and Wilkinson. Up to and including mint mark 0 (zero) on the second-left down stroke of the portcullis a flaw developed on the two centre sections. This was in the form of weakness in the two areas. The punch for the portcullis was eventually repaired and the two areas are strong for mint marks 1 and 2.
The coin found by James exhibits the weakness on the portcullis that would be expected on a perfectly genuine coin. The mint mark is a letter A, which has splayed feet and a bar across the top. It is badly formed but this could be the end result of a poorly cut punch. This mark dates the coin to 1582-84.
Valuation
Halfpennies of Elizabeth I are not as rare as they used to be purely because of the number unearthed by detectorists. However, this specimen is the best I have ever seen; it is a good strike and would grade a really good VF, which is exceptional for such a small coin. It must have passed through very few hands before it was lost in the early 1580s. If offered for sale at auction I wouldn’t expect the pre-sale estimate to be any lower than £250-300.
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