Coin, English, silver, found at Staple Gardens, Winchester, Hampshire, issued by Mary I, 1553 to 1554.

Silver groat of Mary I

Tudor, issued 1553-1554

Found during cable laying in Staple Gardens, Winchester, Hampshire

Mary succeeded Edward VI in 1553 becoming the first queen to reign. A devout Catholic, she married her cousin, Philip of Spain, in Winchester in 1554. The inscription on the obverse of this coin reads MARIA..D.G.ANG.FRA.Z.HIB.REGI (Mary, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland). During her reign, war with France led to the loss of Calais, England's last remaining French possession. The reverse legend reads VERITAS TEMPORIS FILIA (Truth, the Daughter of Time).