Maryland’s Lord Baltimore Coinage of 1659
In the mid-1600s, everyday commerce in the English colonies depended heavily on a patchwork of foreign coins, barter, and local substitutes. In Maryland, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore and proprietor of the colony pursued a proprietary coinage intended to circulate as recognized money in the colony. In 1659, Calvert ordered a proprietary Maryland coinage in three silver denominations (fourpence, sixpence, and shilling) and had a copper penny (Denarium) produced as a pattern, that is, a proposed denomination that did not become a circulating issue.
A Proprietor’s Coinage for “Mary’s Land”
Calvert’s authority flowed from Maryland’s colonial charter, and he believed that a distinctive Maryland coinage could reduce reliance on scarce small change and help standardize trade. Contemporary references indicate that he shipped sample pieces to his brother, Philip Calvert, who served as secretary for the colony, as part of an effort to introduce the “Maryland money” locally.
The project was executed in England and the coins were struck at the Tower Mint in London, resulting in a polished appearance compared with many later colonial coppers that were privately produced on this side of the Atlantic.
Even with the proprietor’s backing, adoption was not automatic. Sources note that Maryland’s assembly initially resisted the plan, and formal authorization for a minting arrangement followed later, underscoring that the coinage was as much a political project as a monetary one.
The Four Denominations
All four denominations depict Lord Baltimore’s portrait on the obverse, typically described as left-facing, underscoring the proprietary nature of the coinage. The reverses, however, differentiate the denominations and emphasize heraldry and value.
The copper penny is commonly called the Denarium (or denarius). Its obverse legend is typically recorded as “CAECILIVS : DNS : TERRAE-MARIAE : &C”, meaning “Cecil, Lord of Mary’s Land, etc”. The reverse carries a coronet with flags and the inscription “DENARIUM TERRAE-MARIAE”, identifying it as the penny of Maryland. Surviving Denarium examples are scarce with perhaps only 6 to 9 pieces remaning.
The three silver denominations follow a similar pattern: the same portrait obverse paired with the Baltimore arms on the reverse, topped by a crown. The fourpence is a groat, marked with the Roman numeral “IV”. The sixpence, slightly larger, is marked “VI”, and it is often cited as the most available of the series, though “available” is relative given the overall scarcity. The shilling carries “XII”, reflecting its twelve-pence value and completing the set of intended circulating pieces.
Circulation, Disappearance, and Why They Matter
The Lord Baltimore coinage appears to have been distributed beginning around 1660, but it never became a dominant medium across the colonies in the way Calvert envisioned. Over time, most pieces disappeared from circulation, likely lost to wear, export, hoarding, and melting as other coinage streams and local substitutes took over. By the early 1700s, much of the coinage had effectively vanished from day-to-day use, leaving modern collectors to reconstruct the series from a small surviving population.
Historically, these coins sit at the intersection of colonial governance and practical commerce. They represent one of the earliest attempts to solve the colonies’ small-change problem with an official, recognizable coinage. They remain significant in the U.S. colonial series because few pieces survive.
