Discovered by Ashley at the close of a long, hot summer’s day in the Surrey Hills, this silver shilling was his first hammered coin — a true milestone for any detectorist. It dates to the third period of Edward VI’s reign, between 1550 and 1553, and was struck at the Southwark mint. The obverse may carry a lis initial mark, a symbol used to help identify when and where the coin was produced.
Edward VI, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, became king in 1547 at the age of just nine. His short reign was dominated by regents who pushed England further towards Protestant reform. Coinage from this period reflects the unsettled economy inherited from Henry VIII’s debasement of the silver standard, and the restoration efforts that followed.
Hammered shillings like this were individually struck by hand, each one slightly irregular in shape and detail. Their survival in the soil centuries later provides a tangible link to a turbulent period of Tudor history. For the Bearded Bleepers, this coin not only represents a piece of national heritage but also a treasured memory of a first hammered discovery, hard earned at the end of a long day in the field.
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