Half laurel
Encyclopedia
The half laurel was a coin
of the Kingdom of England
minted between 1619 and 1625, with a value of ten shilling
s (half a pound
, or half a laurel).
The half laurel was the third English gold coin
with a value of ten shillings produced during the reign of King James I
. It was named after the laurel that the king is portrayed as wearing on his head, but it is considerably poorer in both quality and style than both the half sovereign and the double crown
which preceded it. The coin was produced during James I's third coinage (1619–1625). All the coins were produced at the Tower Mint in the City of London
.
The half laurel was introduced to replace the double crown of 1604, which had an initial value of ten shillings but whose value had been increased to eleven shillings in 1612 because of the increasing value of gold; the need was felt for a ten-shilling coin in circulation again.
The King is looking to the left of the coin and has the value "X" to the right, behind the kings' head. The legend on the obverse reads IACOBUS D G MAG BRI FRA ET HIB REX – James, by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland – while the reverse shows a long cross over a crowned shield with the arms of the four countries, and the legend HENRIC ROSAS REGNA IACOBUS – Henry [united] the roses, James the kingdoms.
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
of the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
minted between 1619 and 1625, with a value of ten shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s (half a pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, or half a laurel).
The half laurel was the third English gold coin
Gold coin
A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...
with a value of ten shillings produced during the reign of King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. It was named after the laurel that the king is portrayed as wearing on his head, but it is considerably poorer in both quality and style than both the half sovereign and the double crown
Double crown
Double crown can refer to either:* the Pschent combined crown of Ancient Egypt;* a British coin worth ten shillings or two crowns....
which preceded it. The coin was produced during James I's third coinage (1619–1625). All the coins were produced at the Tower Mint in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
The half laurel was introduced to replace the double crown of 1604, which had an initial value of ten shillings but whose value had been increased to eleven shillings in 1612 because of the increasing value of gold; the need was felt for a ten-shilling coin in circulation again.
The King is looking to the left of the coin and has the value "X" to the right, behind the kings' head. The legend on the obverse reads IACOBUS D G MAG BRI FRA ET HIB REX – James, by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland – while the reverse shows a long cross over a crowned shield with the arms of the four countries, and the legend HENRIC ROSAS REGNA IACOBUS – Henry [united] the roses, James the kingdoms.