Anyone collect Elizabeth I, Edward VI or Henry VIII?

Henry VIII debased his silver coinage to the point where he earned the name "Old Coppernose" due to the silver wash wearing off his nose, revealing the high copper content metal underneath.

 

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Henry VIII debased his silver coinage to the point where he earned the name "Old Coppernose" due to the silver wash wearing off his nose, revealing the high copper content metal underneath.

 

Some of the worst debased coinage was issued in Ireland.

IRELAND Henry VIII - Posthumous Issue Sixpenny Groat n.d.(1547-50)

After Henry's death, Edward VI's ministers planned the restoration of sound currency - but to finance it they struck a temporary issue of debased money with the name and portrait of Henry VIII. This is an unusually good specimen for the issue. They are generally dreadful.

 

I apologise. I just realised TheRed already posted this coin.

Let me instead move on to Philip and Mary.

IRELAND Philip & Mary Shilling 1555

The quality of the coinage in Ireland did not improve. This shilling has a silver content of only 0.25. It is also in poor condition, as is typical.

 

England Philip & Mary Shilling n.d. (1554-58)

I love the facing busts design but it is difficult to find them in even good VF. The English ones are, however, better than the Irish ones. This one has Philip's multinational arms as well Mary's England and France.

 

At one stage i managed to succeed in putting together a set of all the Tudor monarchs, from Henry vii to Elizabeth I
Although I’ve traded a few away now !

 

That's a great looking set when shown together. Shame you parted with some.

 

I have a "well advanced" collection of British coins that feature one coin for each king from Alfred the Great to Queen Elizabeth II. I still have a few pieces to go from the period before Eadgar (959 to 975).

Here are my examples of the coins that interest you.

Here is a "young Henry VIII" on a two pence.



And here is an "old Henry VIII" on a groat (4 pence). These coins are not easy to find nice.



I am fascinated by Edward VI because he had so much potential. His father's "tom catting around" probably ruined his chances of having a healthy life.

Here is an Edward VI shilling. This is a fairly common coin, but this one is well above average.



And what's collecting without having something that is expesive? Here is an Edward VI gold half sovereign or pound. I wish I could get a gold coin for every king and queen, but sometimes, it just gets to be too much.

I have three of Elizabeth I six pences. Here is the better of the two hammered pieces that I have.



I have hit my ten photo limit on this post. I'll continue in the next.

 

And here is an Elizabeth I milled six pence. These coins were made on a screw press, and they were better made than their hammered counterparts. The trouble was there were a lot of break downs and French coin maker, Eloye Mestrelle, fell out of the political favor. He lost his coin making franchise and ended up getting hanged for counterfeiting.



Why don't you complete the Tudor collection? Here is a medieval Henry VII groat.



And a Henry VII "Renaissance" groat.



And here is "Bloody Mary," my least favorite British monarch, with her hubby King Philip of Spain on a shilling. This is a "medium grade" piece. These things get expensive when they are much nicer than this one.

 

Those are some wonderful looking coins, @johnmilton

 

Thank you!

 

Yes, beautiful condition coins for the period. A real pleasure for the eye.

 

@johnmilton: What a fascinating group of coins to be able to scroll through. It was quite an educational experience. Thanks for sharing. And I was not even jealous!

 

Here are some Tudor coins. I don’t yet have an Edward VI.

Henry VII medieval style groat:



Henry VII Renaissance style groat:



Henry VIII testoon:



Henry VIII Irish groat with Anne Boleyn:



Henry VIII Irish groat with Jane Seymour:



Henry VIII Irish groat with Katherine Howard:



Mary I groat:



Elizabeth I shilling:

 

I’m not sure the second one is “h K”. It looks more like “h I” for Jane Seymour

 

It was sold to me as Katherine Howard by a knowledgeable dealer but I have to admit the K is far from clear, unlike your beautiful coin. It does seem to me a bit wider overall than a Jane Seymour I.

 

I collected English hammered silver coins for a short time. I relinquished the pursuit for two reasons. First, not long after starting to buy the English I became infatuated and later obsessed with Roman Republican coins. Second, and more importantly, I felt it was beyond my means to build an English hammered coin collection of the quality and breadth that I wanted. Anything larger than a shilling was very expensive without making significant (to me) condition concessions. On the other hand, I felt that with focus I could afford to gradually build a broad, high quality collection of Roman Republican coins. So, I made the choice to divest the English hammered and sold my small collection through Forum and CNG a few years ago. Some of you may have my former coins.

For anyone, like the OP, interested in starting on Engliah hammered, I recommend the following books:
1. J.J. North, English Hammered Coinage;
2. CHV Sutherland, English Coinage; and
3. Spink, Coins of England & the United Kingdom.

 

Good references, I second that. Spink guidebook is produced yearly, and changes year-to-year are minimal. A guidebook from a few years ago should be very inexpensive to procure and nearly up to date with prices.

A comprehensive collection of English hammered coins is a massive undertaking and one which realistically cannot be completed. If you go back to Anglo-Saxon times, you encounter some monarchs and types that are so rare, none are known outside of museums. For example, a coin of Beorhtric of Wessex, or a portrait penny of Eadwig. Still, these barriers to completion do not stop many from collecting old British coins, and the market remains buoyant.

That being said, it is well within many collectors' means to approach this area of collecting without breaking the bank, and build an impressive set.

After all, you can collect Roman Republican without all the rare imperatorial types, or without all the different muses or labors of Hercules

 

One new photo and another re-shoot from an earlier posting.

First, the new coin. This is a groat of Henry VIII, 5'th bust, Bristol Mint, 1544-1547.
2.3 grams
25 mm, 3 h.

This example depicts an old Henry, nearing the end of his reign. As these coins go (grade: fine), the detail is decent, and the light weight is indicative of the debasement that occurred towards the later years of his life.



This is a re-shoot of another Tudor monarch nearing the end of her legendary reign, Elizabeth I. I was not satisfied with the earlier image, taken with a flash, feeling that it did not do justice to the coin.

I think this image is an improvement. The major challenge with this coin is capturing the detail, given the low relief of the central design elements. This issue is notorious for weak centers. Apparently the flans were not sufficiently heated prior to striking. The dies themselves were not engraved very deeply, adding to the shallow detail. As this issue goes, this example is above average in strike, despite the slight doubling, and it is nicely toned.



I have an Edward VI crown somewhere, in some box. As soon as I locate it I will take a couple of pics of it.

 

The search is over. Here is the Edward VI crown, 1551, Tower Mint.

This coin was acquired at the Davisson Ltd. Auction 17 in June 2002, Lot 195.

During Edward's brief reign, England's first silver crown was introduced in 1551. He introduced a series of fine silver issues as part of an effort to restore the public's trust in coinage, trust that was badly damaged by Henry VIII's debased coinage during the later part of his reign.

England, 1551
Edward VI, 1537-1553
Fine silver crown
Tower Mint
Obverse: Lingford A
Reverse: Lingford 8
S. 2478
Very fine
30.8 grams
42 mm, 12 h.



So, there they are, the two crowns of Henry VIII's children:
Elizabeth I (mother: Anne Boleyn)
Edward VI (mother: Jane Seymour)