Coins of the UK - 11 - Shilling
Tony Clayton
The Shilling
------------
The shilling, or testoon as it was originally called, valued at 12 pence was
first issued in 1502 during the reign of Henry VII. These early issues are
extremely rare, and even a fine version would set you back at least
4000 pounds ($6500 US). They were clearly not popular at first, and the next
issue of testoons took place 42 years later in the reign of Henry VIII.
The coin became known as a shilling during the reign of Edward VI. Mintage
continued regularly after that, although none are known from the sole reign of
Mary I.
The really interesting period comes during the reign of Charles I, because
not only were there a wide range of styles and mints for the official
coinage (The Coincraft catalogue lists 76 different varieties), but there
were some unusual provisional issues made from plates and other silver
items while the cities of Carlisle, Newark, Scarborough and Pontefract
were under siege.
Shillings were produced in quantity during the Commonwealth, and the Cromwell
coin, though scarce, is more common than some other denominations.
During the reign of Charles II milled shillings began to be produced in
very large numbers, although collecting the series is complicated by the
wide range of provenance marks and dates, the former indicating the origin
of the metal used for the coins. The 1681 with elephant and castle is
particularly rare.
A most interesting variety occurs amongst the issues of William III,
where the error of date 1669 was made instead of 1696. During this
reign several provincial mints were in use, and their coins are
indicated by a letter under the bust.
The later series prior to the Great Recoinage of 1816 are a very
complex group with many varieties of provenance marks, and a number of
scarce errors. The following coins are particularly scarce:
Queen Anne 1704 plain reverse
1707 mm E*
George I 1721 plumes & roses reversed
1723 WCC below head (Welsh Copper Company)
1724 WCC below head
1725 WCC below head
1726 roses & plumes
1726 WCC below head
1727
There are two famous rarities of George III. The first is the
Northumberland Shilling of 1763. This was distributed by Hugh, Earl of
Northumberland on his installation in Dublin as Viceroy of Ireland.
About 150 pounds worth was minted, representing 3000 shillings, a very
small mintage. The second was the Dorrien and Magens shilling of 1798.
Several London bankers had acquired about 30000 pounds worth of silver
which was sent for coining. Unfortunately the Lords of the Committee in
Council declared them illegel, and the very great majority were melted down.
One of the banks went by the glorious name of 'Messrs Dorrien, Magens, Mello,
Martin and Harrison'. It seems that the government were worried that
the issue would stimulate a demand for more coins which they would
have been powerless to satisfy, as the price od silver was very high.
After the Great Recoinage which started in 1816 the shilling was
produced almost every year until decimalisation. Scarce dates include:
Victoria 1850 and 1854
Edward VII 1905
George V 1925 and 1930
George VI 1952 (extremely rare Proofs of the English version only)
A number of changes of metal took place after 1920. Prior to
that date all GB silver was 92.5% silver. In 1920 the price
of silver rose to such an extent that the fineness was reduced to
50% silver. Problems with the alloy meant a slight change in the alloying
additions in 1922 and again in 1927. Finally the 'silver' coins changed
to cupronickel in 1947.
The issues of George VI and Elizabeth II are unusual in that two
different designs were issued each year (except 1952), an English
and a Scottish version. They were not distributed solely in the relevant
countries, but circulated equally alongside each other.
The last shillings were minted in 1966. Two years later the new five-pence
piece with identical dimensions began to be issued prior to decimalisation
in 1971. Shillings and 5p coins circulated together until the end of 1990,
when they were superseded by a new smaller 5p coin. Thus ended the 488 year
history of the shilling.
--
Tony Clayton
to...@tclayton.demon.co.uk
Dan Masters
Tony,
Was there a shilling as money of account before there was a shilling
coin? Was the word shilling or testoon created to match a new coin or
was a coin created to incarnate the term?
Dan Masters
Tony Clayton
In message <335AFA...@slip.net> Dan Masters wrote:
> Tony,
>
> Was there a shilling as money of account before there was a shilling
> coin? Was the word shilling or testoon created to match a new coin or
> was a coin created to incarnate the term?
>
Hi Dan,
Good question. I should have made it clearer. I have had another look
in my splendid little 'Teach Yourself Guide to Numismatics'.
The scilling or scylling (which possibly comes from the Teutonic root
skil meaning to divide) was used in Anglo-Saxon times as money of account,
even though no coins of that denomination existed. It was mentioned not
only in Anglo-Saxon poems as scylling, but also in the 14th century by the
poet Langland as shilling.
The Saxon Scilling was considered to be five pence (a fore-runner of
decimalisation when the shilling equalled five new pence?!), but
William I fixed its value at twelvepence, the value that continued
until 1971.
The testoon of Henry VII was so called because of the Italian testone
which inspired the design - it was the first English coin to have a
realistic portrait of the Monarch.
The Teston, Testune or Testoon (coming from the Old French teston, teste, a head)
was originally a silver coin struck by the Duke of Milan in 1468, which had
a realistic portrait rather than the sterotype used previously.
Hope that helps.
--
Tony Clayton
to...@tclayton.demon.co.uk