Artwork Page for Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

Details / Information for Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

1592–95

England, Elizabeth I, 1558-1603

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Medium
gold
Measurements
Diameter: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.)
Weight: 1.367 g (0.05 oz.)
Credit Line
The Norweb Collection 1969.184
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

First issued in 1549, the halfcrown is the equivalent of two shillings, six pence. It was discontinued in 1970.

Description

This is the second type of gold halfcrown, showing the queen in ornate style. She often wore elaborate and luxuriously decorated dresses, many of them heavily bejeweled as seen here. The mint mark, visible just above the crown on the reverse, is a tun or barrel. This helps identify the date the coin was issued as the mint mark changed every few years.
Two sides of a gold coin with an inscription circling an image on both sides (see "Inscriptions" field). On the left, is Elizabeth I in profile with a crown, long, thick hair, and a bejeweled dress. On the right, "E" and "R" flank a crowned coat of arms divided into four sections. The upper left and lower right sections feature three stylized fleur-de-lis lilies and the remaining sections three elongated and barely discernable lions.

Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

1592–95

England, Elizabeth I, 1558-1603

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