Featured Edward VI hammered Shillings and Sixpence...

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by ewomack, Aug 23, 2020.

  1. ewomack

    ewomack 魚の下着

    King Edward VI was the son that Henry VIII had always wanted. To produce this heir, Henry changed the history of England itself. Henry died in 1547, likely feeling that he had fulfilled his sacred duty to carry on the Royal succession, but he had done so far more than he could possibly imagine, just not with his only son. Of course Henry never knew that Edward died at the age of 15 and so never fully ruled the kingdom left to him. Edward and his regents apparently had plans to build a strict Protestant state, but of course those never materialized.

    Sadly, his father had debased the coinage to such an extent that the economy had faltered to a startling degree. Rather than addressing the issue, Edward's protectors instead sought further profit by continuing this practice. As Edward wrote in his diary on August 18, 1551: "The shilling fell from nine pence to six pence, the groat from three pence to two pence, the twopence to a penny, the penny to a halfpenny, the halfpenny to a farthing, etc." Something had to be done, so the government issued fine silver coins, which Edward described with some pride in his diary entry for September 24th, 1551. Regardless, the economy did not fully recover until the reign of Elizabeth I.

    The coins below are the only Edward VI coins that I possess. They are not the most stunning examples, but they help quench my fascination for the boy king who died young and allowed his once disowned sisters to rule England. One wonders what Henry VIII would have thought of how his succession panned out. Looking back, perhaps some poetic justice exists in the fact that women, particularly Elizabeth I, carried on Henry's legacy after he had mistreated so many of them for his own purposes during his lifetime. Yet this situation did end up producing one of England's most highly regarded monarchs, arguably the greatest legacy of Henry's controversial, stormy and short-lived marriage to Anne Boleyn.

    Had Edward VI lived longer, or married and produced heirs of his own, the world might never had seen Elizabeth I. Edward did take after his father somewhat and, as it turned out, ended up inadvertently condemning Lady Jane Grey to her death. Because his direct heir, Mary, had practiced Catholicism, Edward tried to bypass her and appoint the Protestant Jane Grey as his true heir in the "My Devise for the Succession," written by a very ill Edward in 1553. Jane Grey, only 16 or 17 herself, "ruled" for 9 days before an unopposed Mary Tudor returned to London to claim the crown. Jane remains an extreme example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, though she did officially sign a letter as "Jane the Quene," so perhaps she fully understood the potential consequences of her actions? Or perhaps her family pushed her along? In any case, she was beheaded for treason in 1553.

    Edward VI's coins feature fascinating designs and they capture one of the usually overlooked eras of Tudor England, one which actually set English history on an entirely new course. The reverse of the older debased Shilling also features one of the earliest dates to appear on English coins.

    EdwardVI_01_01.png
    EdwardVI_01_02.png

    Edward VI - Shilling Second Period, debased - Tower Mint
    Spink 2466
    1549 (MDXLIX on reverse)
    Obverse:
    EDWARD VI : D • G • AGL • FRA • Z : HIB • REX
    Reverse: Arrow Mintmark, TIMOR • DOMINI • FONS : VITÆ • M : D : XLIX; E - R across fields

    EdwardVI_03_01.png
    EdwardVI_03_02.png
    Edward VI - Shilling Third Period - Fine Silver Issue
    Spink 2482
    1551 - 1553
    Obverse:
    Tun Mintmark, EDWARD . VI: D . G . AGL . FRA . Z: HIB . REX:
    Reverse: Tun Mintmark, POSVI DEVM:A DIVTOR E . MEV .

    EdwardVI_02_01.png
    EdwardVI_02_02.png
    Edward VI - Sixpence Third Period - Fine Silver Issue - London Mint
    Spink 2483
    1551 - 1553
    Obverse:
    Y Mintmark : EDWARD . VI: D . G . AGL . FRA . Z: HIB . REX :
    Reverse: POSVI DEVM:A DIVTOR E . MEV . Y Mintmark
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2020
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  3. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    [​IMG]
    Edward VI (1547 - 1553 A.D.)
    AR Shilling
    O: (tun) ЄDWΛRD’· VI : D’· S’ ΛGl’: FRΛ’· Z : hIB’· RЄX :, crowned and mantled bust facing slightly left; rose to left, XII to right.
    R: (tun) POSVI DЄVM ·’ : ΛDIVTOR Є’· MEV·’·, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée.
    5.7g
    32mm
    North 1937; SCBC 2482
     
  4. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    In cursive...see if you can read it.
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Robidoux Pass

    Robidoux Pass Well-Known Member

    Thanks, @ewomack for sharing your coins. The Tudor period is indeed a most interesting period in English history. And thank you, @Kentucky for Edward's Devise for his Succession. I was not aware of the document and enjoyed reading it. I could make out most, but not all, of the words. Really cool!
     
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  6. absosecur

    absosecur New Member

     
  7. absosecur

    absosecur New Member

    Sorry i didnt mean to post a blank reply. I just joine this site and the first thing i read is this about edward v1. I started metal detecting back in 1986. Around 1988 or so i found this coin in clinton ms about three blocks from mississippi college. It was about six inches deep in the corner of the sidewalk along the street and the steps going up the bank to the clinton public works and police office. My coin according to your examples is a shilling third period. How rareis it and is there any worth to it. I cant figure out how to load pics of it. Im on a iphone 7.
     
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