1 Shilling - Charles II 2nd milled bust

Charles II's milled coinage was a deliberate repudiation of the hammered silver that had plagued England with widespread clipping — a problem so severe that by the Restoration, the actual silver content of circulating hammered coin had become largely fictitious. The introduction of edge lettering and milled borders made clipping immediately detectable, though it took the great recoinage of 1696, well after this type was struck, to finally pull the clipped hammered issues from circulation entirely.

The second bust variety reflects ongoing refinement at the Tower Mint under the direction of engraver John Roettier, who had been recruited from the Spanish Netherlands specifically for this work.