6 Pence - James I 2nd issue, 4th bust

James I's second coinage of 1604 introduced a revised portrait series responding to persistent complaints about the quality of the first issue — the king himself reportedly found the earlier likeness unflattering. The fourth bust within this sequence represents the most mature rendering of that revision, and pieces from the later years of this range (post-1611) were struck under John Doubleday's tenure as chief engraver, whose work shows markedly better die preparation than his predecessors.

The sixpence was the workhorse denomination of early Stuart commerce. Privy mark sequences — the rose, escallop, grapes, and others cycling through this period — remain the primary tool for narrowing date attribution on undated pieces within Spink 2658.