![[10] Elizabethan Shilling found in Earith 1 Queen Elizabeth bust.](https://notmanywise.uk/wp-content/uploads/shilling1-min.jpg)
A well-worn Queen Elizabethan Shilling dated 1566 found in Earith Fen.
![[10] Elizabethan Shilling found in Earith 2 A very worn Elizabethan shilling showing both sides.](https://notmanywise.uk/wp-content/uploads/elizabethan-shilling-min.jpg)
It was found by John Wales in 1933 in North Halls field, Earith Fen.
How much was that worth in Elizabethan days:
- About three and a half days pay* for a Pikeman in the army. (* After some money had been taken off for his food.)
- 3 or 4 days for an unskilled labourer.
- Whereas a successful merchant could get up to £100,000 in a year! Remember that there were 20 shillings to a pound, so a Pikeman or labourer would have to work 571428 days to equal it – that is about 1565 years without a day off!
See next article: [11] Huntingdon Grammar School days
Or see the first article in this series: [1] Earith early years