Shilling (Bob)

Queen Anne was the last monarch of the Stuart dynasty. Following 17 pregnancies, only one survived infancy and none were able to succeed her. She was also the first sovereign of the Kingdom of Great Britain, following the Union of England and Scotland in 1707. Before the Union, England, Scotland, Ireland and France (yes France, not Wales!), the shillings of Anne had reverses with shields depicting each of the four countries. After the Union the shield designs were changed - two shields showed the conjoined designs of England and Scotland. The Union represented a new dawn in British history, and one that is still argued over ‘til this very day. We're delighted to offer you a small group of inexpensive Shillings from Queen Anne from both the London and Edinburgh mint, the choice will be ours. They were well circulated but clearly show the queen and date, but details will be worn, dates will be of our choice but are between 1707 and 1711.

Edward VI (1547-53) inherited a low-quality, debased coinage from his father Henry VIII (1509-1547). In 1551, Edward revoked his father’s policy of debasing coinage – as low as 25% fineness - and increased it back to 0.929 Fineness, slightly higher than Sterling. This is why this period was known as the Fine Silver Issue (1551-1553). The coins we are offering are well circulated and have been flattened and polished for use as gaming counters, possibly in Victorian times. These fine silver shillings feature the bust of the “Boy King” on the obverse with Tudor rose to the right, the reverse has a Quartered shield of arms over a long cross fourchée, the legend reading “I have made God my Helper” in Latin. Most were struck in London with the Tun (barrel) mintmark, and others were struck at York and have the mintmark “Y”, We only have a limited number of these Shillings available, they are in Very Good grade, and are at least 470 years old - some of the earliest silver shillings issued in Britain.