Money and Coinage in Elizabeth’s England
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, there was no paper money. The basic denominations for coins were pounds (£--but didn’t come into use until 1583), shillings (s) and pence (d—from denarius, a Roman coin).
The Coins in Your Pocket (actually Purse): During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I there was almost a complete recoinage of English coins, gold and silver ones being affected the most.
A fine sovereignwas a gold coin worth 30 shillings or 1 pound 10 shillings.
A sovereign was a gold coin worth 1 pound (but try to think of it as 20 shillingsor 240 pence). There is no actual coin called a “pound” until after 1583, although that is a basic monetary unit.
The angel is one of the most common gold coins in circulation. An angel is worth 10 shillings (1/2 pound). A Gold Angel is a coin, first used in France in the year 1340, and later in England by Edward IV in 1465. The Angel was a new issue of the noble and so at first the coin was called the angel-noble. Angels varied in value between the 14th century and the English Civil war when it was last coined in 1642.
You would never say you owed somebody 6 angels. But you might say you gave your servant an angel to spend at the faire. To coerce someone's servant, you might suggest that the sweet voice of an angel might convince him.
Henry VIII Half Angel coin with St. Michael with a dragon on the obverse and a ship bearing a shield on the reverse
The crown is the most common coin in circulation. Worth 5 shillingsor 60 pence, it is issued in both gold and silver. The crown is also equal to a Venetian ducat, a Flemish gelder, or a French êcu (sometimes called a French crown).
Quarter angel a gold coin worth 2 shillings 6 pence (2s 6p).with St. Michael and a dragon on the obverse and a ship bearing a shield on the reverse.
Half-a-crown is worth 2 shillings 6 pence (2s 6p), sometimes expressed as “2 and 6”.and was issued in both gold and silver.
The shilling is a silver coin worth 12 pence (12d). Sometimes called a testoon before 1551.
The sixpence is a silver coin worth six pence (6d).The coin features a portrait of the Queen on the obverse. On the reverse, the Royal Arms of the House of Tudor. A terstern w/ crowned royal shield on obverse and crowned portcullis on reverse.
A groat is a silver coin worth four pence (4d).used from the 14th to the 17th century.Henry VIII on the obverse and long cross over shield on the reverse
Threepence
A coin worth two pence is called a tuppence or half groat.crowned bust of Henry VII on the obverse and long cross over royal shield on the reverse.
The penny is a silver coin worth a penny (never a pence). You might have several pennies in your purse, to the value of several pence.
Threefarthing
A half-penny is called a ha'-penny (not a ha'pence).
The farthing is a ¼ penny fragment so tiny as to be impractical, but still in circulation.
The guineadoes not yet exist, and will not be minted till the late 17th century.
The mark is "money of account". That is, it is a value worth 2/3 of a pound (13s 4d) but there is no coin worth that amount in the 16th century. It is often used in high-level transactions, such as selling land, figuring feudal fines or calculating dowries.