England's milled coinage, that is, high quality coins of uniform size and shape produced on a press using finely milled blank planchets, were first made under Queen Elizabeth I and later, on a limited basis, by Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth (1649-1660). Under Charles II milled coin production greatly expanded and several coin denominations were revised. In fact, for several denominations Charles II produced the last hammered version of a particular coin, during 1660-1662, as well as the first milled version of the coin, during the later 1660's. Milled hand press coinage continued to be produced in England through the remainder of the period. It was not until the very end of the Eighteenth Century that the next major innovation occurred, namely the invention of the steam powered coining press at Matthew Bolton's Soho mint in Birmingham. Here's an Elizabethan milled sixpence dated 1562: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/SE/SE2594-r.jpg Here's an 1567 silver 6 pence: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/SE/SE2599-r.jpg Here's a 1601 silver half crown: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/SE/SE2583.jpg Clinker
Clinker,the milled process of striking coins was introduced into Elizabethan England by a Frenchman named Eloye Mestrelle (who was hanged in 1570 for coin forgery!).The workers at the Royal Mint feared that the new mill press would force them out of work.In the end,the milling experiment was abandoned as being far slower than the old hammered craft method.The Elizabethan 'Mill Money' coins are actually quite a very difficult series to get represented. It was not until 1662 that the steam-powered coining press took over & hammering was finally abandoned.The steam-powered coining presses were very powerful,as they could strike coins much faster than Mestrelle's mill press was able to do. Aidan.
Thanks Aiden for the addendum...and I had deliberately left that info out of my trivia as irrelavent to its miniscule purpose, but as you've added it, maybe I should have included it... Clinker
Clinker,if it hadn't been for Eloye Mestrelle,Thomas Simon,John Roettier,& Jan Roettier,the British Isles would have continued with striking coins by the hammered craft method until the mid to late 1700's.The early milled coins are like works of art. Aidan.
