Earlier in the week, I mentioned that I had a British gold coin coming to me in the mail. Here it is, a James I Half-Laurel. This coin had a stated value of 10 shillings which is expressed by the Roman numeral “X” that appears in the right obverse field. This series of gold coins derive their name from the laurel wreath that appears on the king’s head. It was issued late in his reign when increases in the value of gold required adjustments to the face value of the British gold coinage. Early in his reign, James issued the gold unite which was worth 20 shillings. In 1612, the value of all gold coins was increased by 10% when made the value of the unite 22 shillings. The name “unite” stemmed from the fact that the coronation of the James as the English king combined the crown with Scotland because James was already the Scottish monarch. After Queen Elizabeth I died childless, the crown went to James who was the great-great grandson of Henry VII. He was closest surviving male heir to the Tutor dynasty. In 1619 another adjustment was needed. This time the 20 shilling piece was replaced by the Laurel which was lighter than the previous coinage. The name “laurel” didn’t stick. In subsequent coinages the names for gold coins reverted back to the old terms angel, unite and crown came back into use. The grading for this piece is interesting. The terms imply that it is much more conservative that it is for U.S. coins. The dealer called this piece a "VF +" yet there is a considerable amount of luster remaining on the coin. Here is an angle shot that shows more of the luster. There is quite a bit of die sinkage (bulging) in the fields. This seems to be fairly common occurrence with hammered coins from the late 1500s and the first half of the 1600s. I have noted it on a number of Queen Elizabeth I coins I have seen.
