Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

Description

This is the second type of gold halfcrown, showing the queen in ornate style. She often wore elaborate and luxuriously decorated dresses, many of them heavily bejeweled as seen here. The mint mark, visible just above the crown on the reverse, is a tun or barrel. This helps identify the date the coin was issued as the mint mark changed every few years.

Provenance

Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (-1969); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1969-)

Halfcrown: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)

[]

1592–95

Accession Number

1969.184

Medium

gold

Dimensions

Diameter: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.)

Classification

Coins

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

The Norweb Collection