The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

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

gold
Diameter: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1969.184
Location: Not on view

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.
  • -1969
    Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1969-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968. p. 43
  • Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
    English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=1592–95|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.184