2017-10-12 Thu

Queen Elizabeth I was the last heir of the House of Tudor to seat on the English throne. She succeeded Queen Mary, her half-sister, in 1553 CE. Elizabeth’s accession to the crown was in the middle of an external threat from the growing power of Spain and an internal threat of the religious turmoil caused due to King Henry VIII’s Protestant Reforms.

Her reign saw England rise to prominence as the substantial opponent to Spain in the colonial expansion. Her sovereign was the age of re-surge in the art under the dignitaries like Shakespeare and Marlowe. Under Elizabeth's rule, the coinage of England flourished, her reign gave uniformity to English monetary system.

The re-coinage of the silver denominations early in Elizabeth’s rule resulted in stabilizing the English economy. The above-shown shilling was issued in Elizabeth I’s reign. The obverse of this coin depicts a crowned bust of Elizabeth I facing left with continuous abbreviated legend ‘ELIZAB:D:G:ANG:FR:ET:HIB:REGI:1:’ meaning ‘Elizabeth by the Grace of God Queen of England, France and Ireland’ within a dotted border.

The reverse of this coin depicts a Shield of Arm with a continuous legend ‘POSVI: DEV: ADIVTOREM: MEV: 1’ meaning 'I have made God my helper' within the dotted border.

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1604 and King James VI of Scotland was crowned as the King of England.

To know more about the coinage of Queen Elizabeth I click here.