Coming soon, regular posts concerning English Hammered Coins and a bit about Ancient Roman coins.

Beeker1 coins has recently obtained some of the more difficult to find Elizabeth I sixpences. Any of the dates around the Spanish Armada utilizing the Crescent Mintmark are difficult to find. Beeker1's site has an example of all three dates 1587, 1588 and 1589. Of course 1588 is the year the English defeated the Spanish Armada and is the most popular and most difficult to find of the three.
Also any of the dates in the late 1590s are hard to find. Currently Beeker1 carries a 1595, 1598 and 1599 sixpence. When was the last time you have run across a 1599 Sixpence? There is also a very nice example from the last year of Elizabeth's reign a 1602 Sixpence. You can find these at english-hammered-coins.com.

Scarce Sixpences of Elizabeth I and James I

There are a couple of date runs during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I that the dates on the sixpence are very difficult to obtain. For Elizabeth I the years 1596 to 1599 are very hard to find and rarely offered. Most of these carry the Key mintmark and some carry the very rare Anchor Mintmark.
Also during Elizabeth's reign the Crescent mintmark is hard to find on the Sixpence. These were minted during the years 1587, 1588 and 1589. These are the year before, during and after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. 1588 tthe actual year of the Armada is extremely scarce, I have only seen two of these offered in recent years.
For the sixpences of James I, the years in the teens are very scarce. 1609 would be included in this group as well. Adding to the interest of the 1611 Sixpence, perhaps the most popular year of James' sixpences, is that is the year of the commission of the King James version of the Bible.
Some books list 1615 as the last year of the sixpences in the teens, but I believe I saw a low grade, holed 1616 Sixpence offered on eBay a couple of years ago. Can anyone substantiate this? If you have a scan of one you could send me, please email to beeker1@english-hammered-coins.com.
Some of the above dates mentioned are available at Beeker1 Coins

Featured Coin of the Week
Improvements to English Hammered Coins website. Recently, Beeker1's English Hammered Coins and Napoleonic Coins website has made a bit of a change. For frequent visitors, you will have already noticed the new "Featured Coin of the Week" area. Usually this will be a recent purchase, but can also feature a coin that has been in stock a little while, but is noteworthy.
Right now the site is featuring a nice Italian States-Kingdom of Napoleon 1 Lira Silver coin.
Recent featured coins included an exceptional Queen Elizabeth I Shilling, a Caesar Augustus silver Denarius, and a choice 1606 Sixpence of James I.
Soon the site will be offering the opportunity for you to consign your coins and increase the chance of selling a coin you would like to move.
Please watch for further announcements.

Here is the latest update with the Beeker1 website. I have finally acquired another Briot Sixpence of Charles I, this one has CHRISTO on the reverse, the coin is not here yet for me to scan and apply to the website, but is on the way. Coming soon will be a 1627 sixpence to go along with the two 1625 sixpences and the 1626 sixpence already on the site.
For the dated sixpence of James I only lacking is the 1612 sixpence and 1616 sixpence. I would be very interested in locating either of these dates.

Italian States - Kingdom of Napoleon

As Napoleon Bonaparte conquered his way through Italy, he set up the Kingdom of Napoleon, with himself as the ruler. Quite a variety of coins were issued from the small copper centimos to the fairly large gold 40 Lire. Some are fairly common and others quite scarce.
Of the coppers, the largest of these are the Soldo, just under the size of a US Half Dollar, these can be fairly difficult to find, particularly in nice condition.
Currently on Beeker1's English Hammered Coins and Napoleonic coins website there is a nice variety of Kingdom of Napoleon 1 Soldos, almost one of each date. Please click here to check these out.

I have now acquired a decent 1610 Sixpence. A very hard to locate date. To view click here.