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1 Shilling - Lord Baltimore
| Issuer | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1659 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Shlling (1/20) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Calvert family coat of arms — a quartered shield bearing the distinctive paly and crosslets of the Calvert family — is prominently displayed in the center of the field, surmounted by a royal crown with orb and cross finial. The denomination XII (twelve pence) appears flanking the shield, with X to the left and II to the right. The Latin biblical legend CRESCITE:ET:MULTIPLICAMINI surrounds the design within a beaded border, referencing Genesis 1:28. |
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| Reverse lettering | CRESCITE:ET:MULTIPLICAMINI· X II |
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| Additional information |
Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, commissioned this coinage in London around 1659 — the only coinage ever authorized by a proprietary colony in British North America. Struck by a private silversmith rather than the Royal Mint, the pieces were intended to address the chronic shortage of small change plaguing Maryland's tobacco economy. They arrived in the colony in limited quantities and saw hard use.
The issue was contentious from the start. The Maryland Assembly resisted Baltimore's unilateral authority to coin money, and the series was short-lived as a result. Surviving examples in any condition are genuinely scarce.