Hammered by a mudlark

The pictured coins are a small part of a group sold to me a a retired River Thames mudlark - they totalled 180 coins in all, mostly from the 1600s.

There were however plenty from earlier, known as hammered coinage, like the lovely Henry VIII groat (4d) from around 1530 pictured in the centre.

Above that is an Edward VI shilling from c. 1551 and to its right an Elizabeth I sixpence dated 1562.

The seller did his searching in the 1960s, when anybody could head down to the river and try their luck. Nowadays you need a ‘Thames Foreshore Permit’ from the Port of London Authority which costs £96 pa and allows digging down to 7.5cms maximum.