1/2 Groat - Elizabeth I 2nd issue

Elizabeth I's second coinage of 1560–61 was part of a broader recoinage effort to address the debased silver flooding England after Henry VIII and Edward VI had systematically stripped the coinage of precious metal content — at its worst, the silver standard had fallen to just .333 fine. The Mint was directed to call in the old base issues and replace them with sterling-standard silver, a logistical undertaking that consumed enormous quantities of bullion in a short window.

The halfgroat of this issue was struck at the Tower Mint under the direction of Sir Thomas Stanley. Wire-line inner circles and the mintmark Cross Crosslet place it precisely within the second issue's known production sequence.