Catalog
6 Pence - Lord Baltimore
| Issuer | Province of Maryland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1659 |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, facing left, with long flowing hair, set within a beaded inner border. The Latin legend encircles the effigy, reading CÆCILVS:DNS:TERRÆ-MARIÆ:&C, identifying him as Lord of Terra Mariae (Maryland). A small cross patée appears in the legend above the portrait. The portrait is rendered in a bold, somewhat naïve baroque style characteristic of mid-17th century colonial coinage. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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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.