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Choice VF Lord Baltimore Maryland Shilling Maryland. Undated (1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling. Hodder

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Choice VF Lord Baltimore Maryland Shilling Maryland. Undated (1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling. Hodder
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Choice VF Lord Baltimore Maryland Shilling Maryland. Undated (1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling. Hodder 1-A, W-1080. Large Bust, MARIAE. VF-25 PCGS. Here is a splendid collector-grade example of Cecil Calvert’s – the second Lord Baltimore -- silver shilling coinage. The surfaces of this evenly circulated example are deep steel-gray throughout, though a bold light source brings out flashes of rose and blue. Evenly worn but not overly marked, especially to the unaided eye. Modestly off-center on both sides. On the obverse, sharp dentils are seen at the viewer’s left, and Calvert’s hair details are strong atop the portrait’s head and behind the neck; the profile is complete and the eye details are full. The S of CAECILIVS and the following D of DNS are tight to the rim. The reverse is the usually seen state with the odd clash mark curving from the II of the denomination downward to the lower right corner of the shield, and the wavy appearance at the center of the coin; the tops of ESCI in the legend are at or slightly over the rim. This example is as nice as you are apt to see among comparatively graded specimens.


Upon the death of his father, the first Lord Baltimore, young Cecil Calvert inherited some 10 million acres in what was then called Terrae Mariae, “Maria’s Land.” Calvert assumed he had a coinage prerogative with his grant, which didn’t say he couldn’t strike coins, and so he had coinage produced for Maryland by the English -- luckily under Cromwell instead of a king who would no doubt have expressly forbidden it -- to circulate in his Maryland colony in the New World.


Since the earliest days of numismatics in America, ownership of a Cecil Calvert shilling has been a mark of distinction, and today’s attitude is no different. Here is an issue that is well-known to collectors who realize, from experience, no doubt, that any offering of the Calvert shilling coinage will be hotly pursued and pushed to the bidding limits – there are certainly far more want lists for this prize than there are available examples of silver shilling pieces to go around. The present specimen will be no exception to that unwritten rule of thumb, so be prepared to stretch for this prize if necessary.
PCGS #34



PCGS Coin Facts