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till the reign of Henry VII, when the first great improvement 
was made by representing the King’s head in profile. In Henry 
VII reign the Shilling first made its appearance, and also the 
Sovereiqn. 
Elizabeth continued the restoration of the coinage, which 
had been commenced by Edward VI; she fixed the alloy in a 
pound of silver at 18 dwts., but she coined 62 shillings out of 
the pound instead of 60, and 62 continued to be the number till 
1816, when 66 were made. 
In the reign of James I the chief gold coins were 30/- 
pieces, 15/- pieces ; Sovereigns, half-sovereigns; Angels=10/-; 
half Angels=5/-; quarter Angels=2/6. The silver coins were 
crowns, half-crowns, shillings, etc. Copper coins came first into 
general use in this reign; they were farthings. There is a medal 
of James I which bears the following remarkable inscription :— 
“Jacobus I totius Insule Britaniee Imperator, et Francie et 
Hiberniz Rex.” 
Charlas I, his coins were for the most part of the same 
type as those of his father. During his reign, silver rose to so 
high a price that it was melted down and exported. The silver 
of Wales was therefore of great service to the King in his wars, 
and accordingly in 1637, Charles established a mint at Aberyst- 
with. From 1628 to 1640, Nicholas Briot, a Frenchman, 
superintended the cutting of the dies, and his coins are of great 
beauty. One of the handsomest coins of Charles I, is the 
Oxford Crown, on which is stamped the King on horseback, with 
his sword drawn in his hand, beneath his horse is a view of the 
City of Oxford. The Legend is “ Religio Prot. Leges Ang. 
Liber Parl. Exurgat Deus Dissipantur Inimici.” 
The Obsidional or Seige Pieces were rude coins struck by 
the King and his adherents, and were made chiefly of silver 
plate, chopped up and engraved with various devices and values. 
The Scarboro’ Half-crown is a piece of thin plate doubled, the 
corners being turned over to hold together, on one side is 
engraved in a very rude manner Scarboro’ Castle, and the value 
of the piece in numerals; on the other side is ‘‘ Obs ” Scarborv’, 
1645. The Newark Shilling, which is one of the commonest 
