Elizabeth I halfgroat S2579

[Red Riley 2]

Unfortunately, my knowledge of hammered coins is a little limited. I acquired this coin in a small bulk lot at a local auction and it seems to be listed in Spink as S2579. The entry states that the mm. should be a bell, but in this case it appears to be 'sunburst'. Is this significant or have I made a crucial error?

Sorry about the size of files, my knowledge of computers is even less than that of hammered coins!

Edited August 5, 2011 by Red Riley

[Rob 3,152]

Unfortunately, my knowledge of hammered coins is a little limited. I acquired this coin in a small bulk lot at a local auction and it seems to be listed in Spink as S2579. The entry states that the mm. should be a bell, but in this case it appears to be 'sunburst'. Is this significant or have I made a crucial error?

Sorry about the size of files, my knowledge of computers is even less than that of hammered coins!

Crucial error. Look at the mintmarks used during the reign at the beginning of each section in Spink. It's a scallop. Sunburst was current only in the reign of Henry VIII and is thought to commemorate the birth of the future Edward VI. For silver, only the groat is even vaguely common with this mark. Smaller denoms are rocking horse poo rare with e.g one penny known in the post war period and only 3 halfpennies known at the same time. The numbers might have doubled by now. Don't even think about a sunburst.

[Red Riley 2]

Thanks Rob