| The Colonial coins of Maryland were issued as part of a private coinage
by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, sometime in 1658-1659 and
possibly later. Calvert became heir in 1632 to a huge expanse of
land that later became Maryland. He believed his Royal Charter
permitted him to strike coins, which were needed to help stabilize
Maryland's agrarian economy. However, once the coins were issued,
Calvert was ordered arrested and some (or perhaps all) of his coins and
equipment were confiscated. No record of the proceedings against
Calvert have been uncovered, but the existence of the coins and the fact
that Calvert lived until 1675 indicate that he prevailed. All of
the coins are scarce to rare today, and the copper Penny (considered a
Pattern) is extremely rare.
On November 13-14, 2002, the London
auction firm of Morton & Eden, Ltd. sold a group of 19 Baltimore
Sixpence coins for a total price of $222,122.00. Included in the
sale was Lot 785, a "Small Bust" Sixpence (Dies 2-D) that sold
for $50,379.00. A late state of Dies 2-B sold for $17,093.00 and
another example of Dies 2-B with heavy clashing above the bust sold for
$15,295.00.
Penny (or Denarium) - Extremely Rare
Fourpence - Rare
Sixpence
- Rare
Shilling - Scarce
|
