5004

(1659) 6PENCE Lord Baltimore Sixpence XF45 PCGS.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:7.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
(1659) 6PENCE Lord Baltimore Sixpence XF45 PCGS.
<B>(1659)<6PENCE> Lord Baltimore Sixpence XF45 PCGS.</B></I> Breen-68, Crosby Pl. III, 2. The Shillings, Sixpence, Fourpence, and Denarium of this type were produced in 1658-59 at the request of Civil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. King Charles I had granted George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, a charter that named him the Lord Proprietor of the colony that eventually became Maryland. Although this charter did not state that Calvert had coinage rights in Maryland, his son assumed the right because the Virginia charter of 1606 included provision for coinage. An unknown mint in London, perhaps the Tower, produced a limited number of coins for Cecil Calvert when prices for commodities began to soar in Maryland in the mid to late 1650s. The Clerke of the Irons in the Tower, however, who was also holder of a Puritan Commonwealth commission against false coiners, obtained a warrant for Calvert's arrest and seized all of his coins and tools. We do not know how Calvert got out of this sticky situation, but he must have (perhaps with help from King Charles II), since he survived until 1675. Meanwhile, most of his coinage disappeared without appreciably improving the monetary situation in Maryland.<BR> This typically worn example displays bright steel-gray color with deeper charcoal color in the more protected areas. Minor planchet irregularity at 9 o'clock on the reverse border. Listed on page 25 of the 2005 <I>Guide Book.</B></I>