Coins of Elizabeth I from the Collection of the late Walter Wilkinson (Part III)

Elizabeth I (1558-1603), First issue, Edward VI, contemporary forgery of a base Shilling, mdxlix, mm. uncertain, obv. countermarked with portcullis [to revalue it at Fourpence-Halfpenny], 2.31g/3h (cf. N 1989; cf. S 2546). Coin worn and with small crack due to the application of the countermark, countermark fine and clear, very rare as a genuine countermark on a false undertype
£400-£500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Coins of Elizabeth I from the Collection Formed by Walter Wilkinson.

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Provenance: Bt Spink October 1984.

The late owner’s ticket states that Chris Comber and Barrie Cook believed that the coin itself is made of pewter. An independent line of thinking is that the local officials at the time responsible for the countermarking were perhaps ignorant of the fineness of a particular coin and so stamped everything dated mdxlix with a portcullis