4 Pence - Lord Baltimore "Groat"

Obverse description	Draped bust of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, facing left, with long flowing hair, set within a beaded inner circle. The effigy is rendered in a crude but distinctive hammered style characteristic of mid-17th century colonial coinage. The Latin legend encircles the bust between the inner beaded border and the outer beaded rim, interrupted at the top by a small cross pattée. The portrait is rendered in relatively high relief against a flat field.
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Obverse lettering	CÆCILUS:DNS:TERRÆ-MARIÆ:&C•
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Additional information	Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, commissioned this coinage — along with shilling, sixpence, and penny denominations — from a London mint in 1659 to address the chronic shortage of small change plaguing his proprietary colony. The coins never circulated widely. Most are believed to have remained in England or been absorbed into the general silver supply before reaching Maryland in meaningful quantities, which accounts for why surviving specimens in any grade are genuinely scarce. The groat is the rarest of the four denominations struck in the series. PCGS and NGC combined populations remain in the low dozens across all grades.