Cleveland Museum of Art

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

Date: 1592–95
Medium: gold
Culture: England, Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
Department: Medieval Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

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. First issued in 1549, the halfcrown is the equivalent of two shillings, six pence. It was discontinued in 1970.

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