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6 Pence - Lord Baltimore
| Issuer | Province of Maryland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1659 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KM#4, PCGS#33, PCGS#931472 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, authorized this coinage in London around 1659 — one of the only proprietary colonial issues ever struck for an American province. The coins were produced in England and shipped to Maryland, where they circulated alongside the chronic shortage of hard money that plagued every English colony in the Atlantic seaboard. Calvert's ability to issue his own coinage stemmed directly from the extraordinary charter granted by Charles I in 1632, which gave him near-palatine authority over Maryland.
The entire Lord Baltimore series — shilling, sixpence, and groat — was short-lived and never replaced. Surviving pieces in any grade are genuinely scarce; the sixpence is the most difficult denomination to locate.