Queen Elizabeth I

HER GREAT COINS, MONUMENTAL INFLUENCE AND CHIEF-OF-STATE POWER

- GREG REYNOLDS

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS (HA.COM)

Although the Kingdom of Great Britain was not formally established until the Acts of Union were passed by England and Scotland in 1707, it is best to refer to all coins that were minted in the British Isles before 1707 as British coins. In the British Isles, political boundaries, military occupations and regimes changed considerably over the centuries.

I selected the coinage of Queen Elizabeth I as the main topic of this feature for several reasons. The coins of her reign were very well represented in the auctions covered here. Events and accomplishments overall during Elizabeth's long reign were tremendous in terms of economic development, cultural advances, military power and the performing arts. During the period from 1500 to 2000, Queen Elizabeth I was certainly one of the four most accomplished and influential female chiefs of state in the world, possibly number one. She ruled from 1558 to 1603.

COURTESY ST. JAMES'S AUCTIONS (STJAUCTIONS.COM)

The New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) is held annually in New York City every January at the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel on East 48th Street in Manhattan, near Grand Central Station. The essence of the convention this year was very similar to last year’s event. Coins from ancient times to the present were offered. In the auctions and on the bourse in January 2026, however, vintage British coins and medals were especially well represented in terms of quantity and quality. It would be impossible to cover even a small percentage of the important British coins that were sold in auctions at the NYINC in January 2026. This review is limited to coins of Queen Elizabeth I, two silver coins of Queen Mary I and a silver crown of King Edward VI.