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1 Testern - Elizabeth I
| Issuer | East India Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1600-1601 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Testern (1600-1601) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field features the crowned Royal shield of arms of England and France quarterly, displaying fleurs-de-lis and passant guardant lions in the four quarters. The shield is flanked on either side by crowned royal cipher 'E' and 'R' in the field. The entire design is contained within an inner beaded circle, with the Latin royal legend disposed around the periphery between the inner and outer toothed borders. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The East India Company received its royal charter on 31 December 1600, and these testerns were among the very first coins struck under its authority — produced specifically to facilitate trade on the initial voyages to the East Indies, where Spanish and Portuguese silver was the established medium of exchange. The Company needed specie that foreign merchants would accept, hence the high sterling fineness.
Spink 2607D places this among the rarest of the early Company issues. Most examples saw hard use in Asian ports before disappearing entirely from the documentary record.