Silver shilling of Elizabeth I
Tudor, issued between 1590 and 1592
Found at Winchester, Hampshire
Mary I died in 1558 and was succeeded by Elizabeth, Henry VIII's second daughter, the last of the Tudors. Recognising the need for a sound coinage, which meant having coins of good weight, metal content and a variety of denominations, she immediately ordered the base issue coins of Henry VIII and Edward VI to be taken in and melted down. Confidence in English coins was restored and a broad range of denominations catered for the needs of both rich and poor. All of Elizabeth's coinage was struck in London, often with silver from the newly discovered Americas. Mintmarks on the obverse and reverse of her coins enable them to be dated closely. On this example the mintmark of a hand shows it to be dated to 1590-1592.
