Cleveland Museum of Art

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

Date

1558–1560

Medium

gold

Culture

England, Elizabeth I, 1558-1603

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This is a fine example of a rare piece, produced by a new process. In about 1560 an attempt was made to introduce coins made with the French screw press. The coins are called mill money, a term derived from the use of water and horse mills used to supply power. The machinery included a rolling press, driven by the mill, a cutting punch, and a screw press for stamping the design on the coin. While the screw press coins are far superior to hammered coins in the point of accuracy of shape and weight, the workmen at the mint put up every possible objection because they were afraid their livelihood was in danger. Eloye Mestrell, who brought the press over from France, was a scoundrel who had once worked for the Paris mint. He was an easy prey to hostility and finally ended up on the gallows, having been convicted of counterfeiting. No more is heard of the screw press until the reign of Charles I when a greater Frenchman, Nicholas Briot, was given employment in the government mint. The workmanship on these milled coins of Mestrell was excellent and the coins are beautifully detailed. The technology of the French screw press allows greater detail to be viewed, such as the queen's bejeweled dress and long locks flowing out of her crown and down her back.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.