PRIMARY
The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
£1 = 20 shillings / 1 shilling = 12 pence
Under Elizabeth I all coins were made of gold or silver – there were no ‘base metal’ (e.g. copper) coins or paper money like there is today. James I introduced the first copper coinage, the copper farthing. Unlike other coins, copper farthings did not contain their value in metal.
It was important for coinage to be worth its FACE VALUE – that is, the amount of gold or silver in a coin should be worth as much as the coin itself claimed to be worth. This is why a silver Crown is so much bigger than a gold Crown – because silver is worth less than gold.
There were lots of problems in Tudor and Jacobean times with ‘devaluing’ or ‘debasement’ of the coinage. This was when a coin had less gold or silver in it than it was meant to have. Also, the value of coin went up or down depending on the value of gold or silver at the time. For example – lots of silver being transported from the Americas into Europe meant that silver was worth less than it had been. This lead to some adjustments to the value of coins and their accepted weights.
The table on the next few pages gives a rough idea of lowest denomination to highest.
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The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
Denomination Elizabeth I James I Metal
Farthing Farthing Silver and copper (1/4 pence) (1/4 pence) (under James I only)
Halfpenny piece Halfpenny Silver
Threefarthing piece None issued Silver (3/4 penny)
Penny Penny Silver
Half groat Half groat Silver (two pence / 2d)
Threepence None issued Silver (3d)
Groat None issued Silver (fourpence, 4d)
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The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
Denomination Elizabeth I James I Metal
Sixpence Sixpence Silver (6d, half shilling) (6d, half shilling)
Shilling Shilling Silver (12 pence) (12 pence)
Half Crown Half Crown Silver (2 ½ shillings, or 2 shillings 6d) (2 ½ shillings, or 2 shillings 6d)
Thistle Crown None issued Gold 4 shillings)
Crown Britain Crown or Quarter Unite (or Quarter Laurel Gold and Silver (5 shillings) after 1619) (5 shillings)
Noble Double Crown or Half Unite (10 shillings) (Half Laurel Gold (roughly 7 – 10 shillings) after 1619)
Angel (roughly 7 – 10 shillings) Angel (roughly 7 – 10 shillings) (also ½ Angel and ¼ angel (also ½ Angel and ¼ angel worth about 5 shillings and 2.5 worth about 5 shillings and 2.5 Gold shillings respectively) shillings respectively)
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The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
Denomination Elizabeth I James I Metal
Royal Not issued Gold (about 10 – 14 shillings)
Half sovereign Not issued Gold (10 shillings)
Spur Ryal Not issued Gold (15 shillings)
Unite (renamed to celebrate Sovereign union of Scotland and England), after 1619 this coin Gold (about £1 or 20 shillings) is known as the Laurel (about £1 or 20 shillings)
Not issued Jacobus Gold (25 shillings)
Rose Ryal Not issued Gold (30 shillings)
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The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
Making coins There were two ways of making coins:
Hammered coins were made by placing a flat, round, blank piece of metal between two dies which were then struck with a hammer. The man who struck the coins was called a moneyer. Hammered coins were never perfectly round and could easily be clipped*.
Milled coins (introduced under Elizabeth I) - the metal to be used to make the coins was flattened into a strip by heavy rollers which were powered by a wind or horse driven mill. Coin blanks were then cut from the strip and stamped by dies in a press. It was also at this time that coins began to show their date of issue. Coins are still made this way today (although we don’t use horses or wind to drive the mills!). Milled coins were more uniform and therefore it was more difficult to cut a bit off without anyone noticing.
*Clipping is the act of shaving off a small portion of a precious metal coin for profit. Over time, the precious metal clippings could be saved up and melted into bullion or used to make new coins.
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The Coinage of Elizabeth I and James I
Prices Loaf of bread = 2d
Beef = 3d per pound for best beef
Mutton = 1 1/2 pence per pound
Sugar = 1s per pound
Pair of knitted stockings = 15 shillings
A good pair of boots = £4 - £10 a pair
Velvet = 34 shillings a yard
A visit to the theatre might cost as much as 1 shilling for the best seats, and as little as a penny for standing room in “the pit”.
A skilled labourer might earn between 8d and 12d per day (so, around 20 – 30 shillings a month).
An unskilled labourer might earn about 3 or 4d per day.
A captain in the army would earn 6 shillings a day, whereas a common soldier earned 8d per day.
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