Lot 2064
Great Britain. Half Pound, Nd. S.2520; Fr-203. Elizabeth I, 1558-1603. Second issue (1560-1). Mint mark, cross crosslet. Obverse: Neat crowned bust of Queen left. ELIZABETH: D.G ANG FRA ET HI REGINA. Three pellets after ELIZABETH. Reverse Crowned square-topped Tudor shield with E R to left and right. Particularly sharp obverse, and excellent detail on shield. This coin has an exceptional portrait and compares well with the specimen in the Millennia Collection. Lightly cleaned. About Uncirculated.
*This coin was produced early in Queen Elizabeth's reign, in the period 1560-1561. Elizabeth has succeeded her sister, Mary I, just two to three years earlier, in 1558. Her first task was to bring about a broad religious settlement and stabilize the nation. As a Protestant who experienced the revulsion felt for Mary and her Catholic entourage at first hand, in 1559 the new Queen took the opportunity to enforce the Protestant religion by law.
Elizabeth was bright, educated and above all a pragmatist. This was just the start of the Elizabethan age - a time of expansion in commerce and geographical exploration when the arts and literature flourished. She was wooed, unsuccessfully, by many European heads of state, and she used these bids to strengthen her power, but she never married. Here began strong links with America, indeed Virginia was named after the 'Virgin Queen'.
Estimated Value $9,000 - 10,000.
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