Sovereign: James I (obverse); Crowned Shield (reverse) (1603–4): Art, History and Details

Sovereign: James I (obverse); Crowned Shield (reverse) (1603–4) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The accession of James I to the throne of England brought about the union of the thrones of England and Scotland. This was duly recorded on the coinage, the royal arms on this rare piece now consisting of the arms of England (twice), Scotland, and Ireland. The English arms still contain the French lilies, though the last French possession, Calais, had been lost in the reign of Philip and Mary, 1544–58. On the reverse, SCO for Scotland was added to the royal title. The final unification of the two kingdoms did not take place until the 1706 Act of Union. James was in fact king of two separate countries and in Scotland, which had its own separate coinage till the act, where he is referred to as James VI. At first the coins were the same weight and fineness as those of Elizabeth I, but later a proclamation, due to "trade necessities," reduced the value by ten percent. In 1611, however, the value was restored.

Object facts

• Title: Sovereign: James I (obverse); Crowned Shield (reverse)
• Date: 1603–4
• Culture: England, James I, 1603-1625
• Type: Coins
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Numismatics
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1969.188

A detail from the museum

The design of the reverse of this coin indicates it is from the beginning of the rule of James I in 1603.

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.]

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.