Mintmarks - Tudor & Stuart
The following list is designed to allow one to attribute a coin to a mint by the initial mintmark found at 12 o'clock on the obverse of the coin. For practical reasons this list begins during the reign of Henry VII as it is during this period that the inscription of the mint-place on the reverse of the coin was abandoned. Before Henry VII, mintmarks[LINK] were used by mint officials to distinguish coins to their date of production, a fact which numismatists have found very helpful when attributing coins to the correct year. By 1553 the only mint producing coin for the crown was that at the Tower of London, the initial marks on these coins can tell us the date to within a couple of years.
| What is it? | Who used it? | Where was it used? |
|---|---|---|
A |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1583-84/5 |
Acorn |
Henry VIII Elizabeth I |
York 1526-30 Tower 1573-4 |
Anchor |
Henry VII Elizabeth I Charles I |
Tower 1490-1504 Tower 1597/8-1600 Tower 1628-9 |
Annulet & Pellet |
Henry VIII | Tower 1544-7 |
Arrow |
Henry VIII Edward VI |
Tower 1532-42 Tower 1547-9 |
Bell |
Elizabeth I James I |
Tower 1582/3-83 Tower 1610-11 |
Book |
James I | Tower 1616-7 |
Bow |
Edward VI | Durham House 1548-9 |
Castle |
Henry VIII Elizabeth I Charles I |
Tower 1509-26 Tower 1570-2 Tower 1627-8 |
Castle with H |
Henry VIII | Tower 1509-26 |
Catherine Wheel |
Henry VIII | Canterbury 1533-44 |
Cinquefoil |
Henry VII James I |
Tower 1490-1504 Tower 1613-5 |
Coronet |
Elizabeth I James I |
Tower 1567-70 Tower 1607-9 |
Crescent |
Henry VIII Elizabeth I James I |
Durham 1526-9 Tower 1587-89/90 Tower 1617-8 |
Cross - calvary |
Charles I | Tower 1625-6 |
Cross - crosslet |
Henry VII Elizabeth I |
Tower 1504-7 Tower 1560-1 |
Cross Fitchee |
Henry VII Henry VII (gold) Henry VIII |
Tower 1485-90 Tower 1492 Canterbury 1509-26 |
Cross - Long |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1580-1 |
Cross - Patonce |
Henry VIII | Canterbury 1526-32 |
Cross - Plain |
Henry VII Elizabeth I James I |
Durham 1484-94 Tower 1578-80 Tower 1618-9 |
Cross - Voided |
Henry VIII | York 1514-30 |
Crowned Leopard’s Head |
Henry VII Edward VI |
Tower 1490-1504 Tower 1550 |
Heart |
Charles I | Tower 1629-30 |
Crozier |
Henry VII | Durham 1489-93 |
Cypher |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1600-1 |
Dragon |
Henry VII | 1504-7 |
E |
Henry VIII Edward VI |
Southwark 1544-7 Southwark 1547-9 |
Eglantine |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1574-8 |
Ermine |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1572-3 |
Escallop |
Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Elizabeth I James I |
Tower 1490-1504 York 1514-26 Tower 1551-3 Tower 1584/5-87 Tower 1606-7 |
Grapes |
James I | Tower 1607 |
Grapple |
Edward VI | Tower 1549 |
Greyhound’s Head |
Henry VII | Tower 1500-7 |
Hand |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1589/90-91/2 |
K |
Edward VI | Tower 1547-9 |
Key |
Henry VIII Elizabeth I James I |
York 1530-44 Tower 1595/5-97/8 Tower 1609-10 |
Lion passant |
Edward VI Elizabeth I |
Tower 1550-1 Tower 1566/7-67 |
Lis |
Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Philip & Mary Elizabeth I James I Charles I |
Tower 1485-90; 1504-9 Tower 1529-32; 1538-41; 1544-7 Durham 1509-26 Tower 1547-8; 1550-1 York 1547-8 Tower 1554-8 Tower 1558-60 Tower 1604-5; 1623-4 Tower 1625 |
Lis issuant from Rose |
Henry VII | Tower 1490-1504 |
Lis upon half-rose |
Henry VII | Tower 1485-7 |
Lis upon Sun & Rose |
Henry VII | Tower 1485-90 |
Lis-Rose dimidiated |
Henry VII | Tower 1485-90 |
Martlet |
Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Elizabeth I |
Canterbury 1501-9 York 1501-9 Canterbury 1509-26 York 1509-14 Tower 1550-1 Tower 1560-1 |
Moor’s Head |
Charles I | Tower 1626-7 |
Mullet |
James I | Tower 1611-2 |
Mullet (pierced) |
Edward VI | York 1552-3 |
One |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1601-2 |
Ostrich Head |
Edward VI | Tower 1551 |
Pansy |
Henry VII Henry VIII |
Tower 1490-1504 York 1514-26 |
Pheon |
Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Elizabeth I |
Tower 1507-9 Tower1509-26; 1541-2 Tower 1549 Tower 1561-5 |
Plume |
Charles I | Tower 1630-1 |
Pomegranate |
Henry VIII Mary |
Canterbury 1509-26 Tower 1553-4 |
Portcullis |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1565/6-66/7 |
Portcullis crowned |
Henry VIII | Tower 1509-26 |
Rose |
Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Elizabeth I James I |
Tower 1490-4; 1500-7 Tower 1526-9 Durham 1509-26 Tower 1549-51 Tower 1565-65/6 Tower 1605-6; 1620-1 |
Rose (halved) & Castle |
Mary Philip & Mary |
Tower 1553-4 Tower 1554-8 |
Saltire |
James I | Tower 1619 |
Six |
Edward VI | Tower 1549-50 |
Spur rowel |
Henry VIII James I |
Durham 1523-6 Tower 1619-20 |
Star |
Henry VIII | Durham 1526-44 York 1514-26 |
Star radiant |
Henry VIII | Durham 1526-44 |
Sun (halved) & Rose |
Henry VII | Tower 1485-90 |
Sunburst |
Henry VIII | Tower 1537-8 |
Sword |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1581-1582/3 |
T |
Henry VIII Edward VI |
Canterbury 1526-32 Canterbury 1549-50 |
‘TC’ |
Edward VI | Bristol 1549 |
Thistle |
James I | Tower 1603-4; 1621-3 |
Tower |
James I | Tower 1612-3 |
Trefoil |
Henry VIII Edward VI James I |
Durham 1526-9 Tower 1549 Tower 1613; 1624 |
Tun |
Henry VII Edward VI Elizabeth I James I |
Canterbury 1486-1504 Tower 1551-3 Tower 1591/2-94 Tower 1615-6 |
Two |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1602-3 |
Warham’s uncertain |
Henry VIII | Canterbury 1526-32 |
Woolpack |
Elizabeth I | Tower 1594-95/6 |
‘WS’ |
Henry VIII Edward VI |
Bristol 1546-7 Bristol 1547-9 |
Y |
Edward VI | Tower 1549-51 |
