Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 26776 - America 250th Anniversary Sale Ft. Coins, Medals, Banknotes, Objets de Vertu & Ephemera
Lot: 8

Elizabeth I (1558-1603), First Issue, Shilling, 1558-1560, Tower (London), (m.m.) ELIZABETH .' D .' G .' ANG .' FRA .' Z .' HIB .' REGIA .', crowned and drapes bust 2B left, within beaded and wire inner circle, rev. (m.m.) POSVI DEV .' ADIVTOREM . MEVM, long cross fourchée over smaller square shield, 6.054g, 3h, m.m. lys (Brown and Comber 2B; North 1985; S.2549), scratch to obverse and flan flaw below in field, darkly cabinet toned on a pleasing full flan, good very fine and scarce REGIA reading

Provenance

Dr Edward Burstal [with his ticket]



Elizabeth I's reign set the stage for English colonisation of North America. In 1584, she granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter to explore and settle lands in the New World, leading to the ill-fated Roanoke Colony (1585-1587) in present-day North Carolina, the first English attempt at a permanent American settlement. Roanoke was ultimately not successful, becoming known as the "Lost Colony," but the venture established England's claim to North American territory and the legal and commercial framework that later colonisers would follow.



Virginia itself was named in her honour, as she was known as the "Virgin Queen." Though Elizabeth died in 1603, four years before the successful founding of Jamestown in 1607, her patronage of exploration and the precedents she set directly paved the way for England's later foothold in America.


Subject to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Estimate
$1,500 to $2,000

Starting price
$1000