Half Pound: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse) (1558–1560): Art, History and Details

Half Pound: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse) (1558–1560) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Half Pound: Elizabeth I (obverse); Crowned Shield of Arms (reverse)
• Date: 1558–1560
• Culture: England, Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
• Type: Coins
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 3.3 cm (1 5/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Numismatics
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1969.187

A detail from the museum

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.

Collection credit

The Norweb Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.
• Emmison, F. G. Elizabethan Life. [Vol. 1], [Vol. 1]. Chelmsford: Essex County Council, 1970.
• Mikolic, Amanda. Hunting for a Unicorn Horn: Narwhal Tusks in Medieval Monsters. The Cleveland Museum of Art The Thinker Blog on Medium, September 6, 2019.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.