England 1574 3 pence
This specimen was lot 7188 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $384. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 3 Pence, 1574. London Mint; mm: eglantine. Elizabeth I. PCGS Genuine--Environmental Damage, AU Details. S-2566; N-1998. Obverse: Crowned and mantled bust left, wearing ruffled collar; Tudor rose to right; Reverse: Coat-of-arms over long cross fourchee. This nice example of an Elizabethan 3 Pence--despite its shortcoming of being environmentally damaged--retains a charm with good details and a pleasing original color. From the Runze Collection." This type, from the fourth issue, among the first dated coins of England, was struck 1567-77 with various mintmarks. It is the first threepence. It is among the more available coins of the reign. The first milled coinage made in England appeared at this time, but the process was slow and expensive. Hammered coinage would continue until the 1660's and would not be taken out of circulation until the 1690's.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 24 grains, 0.925 fine silver.
Catalog reference: S-2558; N-1988.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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