New Purchase added to stock.

Pictured is an attractive example of a 1593 Sixpence that I just added to my website. Sporting a reasonable portrait of Elizabeth I, and a strong reverse. There is just a little bit of weakness in some portions of the legends, but the other half is quite strong. These hammered coins are hard to find fully struck. You can click the above picture to take you to larger pictures of the coin.

Do you have any coins to sell???
If you are a coin dealer or an individual with a few coins, perhaps we can do some business. If you do a search on most of the major search engines, you will note that Beeker1 English Hammered and Napoleonic coins is usually in the top 5 search results. For English coins, I usually show up in the top 40. I also get hits from searches for Briot coinage, Newark siege coins among many others. http://www.english-hammered-coins.com is getting more and more recognition on the internet, and sales are on the improve.
To continue to grow, I need more material for the web site. I would be happy to make an offer for any coins you would like to sell outright. Perhaps we could come to an agreement on handling your coins on a consignment basis, there are many possibilities of how we can put together a business opportunity. I would, however, insist on having the coins in my posession before listing on my website. One reason is to keep consistency in the images on the site. Another is to make sure the coins are indeed available, and that the coins are properly packaged and shipped.
If you are a dealer without a web presence, and have been considering taking your business on-line, perhaps I can be of assistance. Currently, my English Hammered Coins website is more of a hobby than a business. My full time job is instructing beginning businesses on properly putting together a website, marketing it, and optimizing for high rankings in the most popular search engines. I also create, host and maintain several websites for a variety of clients. If you are interested in a web presence, but don't know where to start, I can help. Contact me and we can get started.
If you are a dealer with a web site and are a little disappointed on the hits you are getting to your site, contact me, perhaps your site needs just a little tweaking to get the recognition you desire.
CLICK HERE to contact me.
Thank you
Barry Johnson (beeker1)

The coinage of Nicholas Briot

Once early in the reign of Elizabeth I and again during the reign of Charles I, the mint experimented with machine made, or milled coinage. Usually these came out as very beautiful coins as opposed to the hammered coins of the era. The problems that arose were that they were slower in the making and not very popular with the masses. I will touch on the coinage of Eloi Mestrelle who attempted milled coins in Elizabeth I's reign in later blogs.
Pictured is the obverse of a 2nd coinage Sixpence of Nicholas Briot. Nicholas Briot became the Mintmaster just before 1630, early in the reign of Charles I. He vastly improved the quality of the hammered coinage, then in the mid to late 1630s he experimented with milled coinage. He produced two issues with slight changes occuring on the 2nd coinage. One of the problems, more noted with the second coinage is the adjustment marks to reduce the amount of silver to the proper weight. These appear as filing marks across either side of the coin. These can be very detracting at times and can affect the value.
The Briot coinage is quite popular with collectors and are fairly available with a little looking.

They're here!!
Yep, the Postman didn't have to ring twice for me to get to the door in anticipation of the arrival of this batch of coins. They are everything I had hoped they would be. An excellent group. Pictured is one of the nicest 1st Bust James I sixpences I have seen. I have posted all of the James I coins on the site and also the Charles I coins. I have yet to post the nice Liz I 1595 Sixpence or the Charles II Sixpence, which I am considering put up on eBay. In addition to these nice coins, I have picked up a 1614 Sixpence in decent shape as well a nice Sixth Bust James I Shilling. The portrait is a bit weak on the shilling, but one of the nicest reverses I have ever seen, great strike! Your comments are always welcome, and I may add them to this blog site. Please email me with any comments. Thanks!!

Another sixpence of James I that is on the way is a very nice example of the sixth bust dated 1623. This one sports an above average portrait and the legends are strong to boot. Just a little nick at 9 o'clock, but doesn't detract. Soon these will arrive and I will post them at my Beeker1 coins web site. Keep checking back here as I present pictures of what else is on the way. Barry

Here is a very interesting coin. This is the first 1615 sixpence I have had a chance to pick up. It is in decent looking shape and has a pretty good sized planchet. I'm very excited to receive this coin. If you have any James I sixpences with dates after 1609, please contact me. I would be happy to make an offer after inspecting the coin. For that matter any James I Sixpence with a nice portrait would be considered. Shoot any Tudor or Stuart hammered coin I would like to take a look at. Just email me at beeker1@english-hammered-coins.com always looking for nice material for the website.

This is not one of the pieces that will be coming, this is one that arrived yesterday. This is a hard to find 1611 Sixpence of King james I. This is one of the more popular dates that both collectors and those interested in the bible like to hunt for. This is the year the King James Bible was finished. Quite hard to locate! Although this is a lower grade example, it is clearly dated 1611. The portrait of King james is mostly gone, so comparatively this will be more affordable. I will post it soon at www.english-hammered-coins.com and it will be priced then.

Here is another of the coins on the way, this has a very nice portrait for the hammered coinage of Charles II. The planchet is a bit irregular, but it is still an outstanding piece.

I am pretty excited, I have located a nice batch of hammered sixpences that will soon be winging there way across the pond to me. I am going to post a picture or two up here daily so you can see what is on the way. Here is a very nice 1595 Sixpence of Elizabeth I mintmark wool pack. This is a slightly more difficult date, and are quite scarce this well struck and this nice of grade. I will have to have the coin in hand before I decide on pricing. Also coming are James I sixpences dated 1603, 1608, 1615 and 1623 all are quite nice. Keep an eye here for pictures. Also a decent Charles I sixpence and an above average Charles II hammered Sixpence. I think I will put a picture of that up here tomorrow. If you have questions or comments email me.

I don't know why I have a particular interest in the coinage of King James I. Perhaps because of the King James Bible which was commissioned in 1611, making that a very popular date for collectors, or even Bible enthusiasts. I have been lucky enough to have owned a couple of these and thought I would add a picture of the dated side of a 1611 James I sixpence.
Clicking the picture will take you my website where you can view larger images of this coin. During the 23 year reign of King James I, there were actually six different portraits put on his coinage. That may be one of the aspects that interest me is the challenge of finding a nice example of each portrait. I'm always looking for interesting stuff, if what you have is too expensive, perhaps we can work out a way to help you market your coin. If you have any comments you think would be interesting to add here, let me know.