Définition

• The English equivalent of the Teston. It was introduced in 1504, in the third coinage of Henry VII, and was valued at twelve Pence. The coin is noted as being the first English coin which has an actual portrait of the reigning sovereign.

  In 1543, under Henry VIII, Testoons were ordered to be struck, the silver in them being of a lower grade of fineness than had been previously employed. In 1548 they were called in by proclamation, all persons being forbidden to utter or receive them in payment, but the holders of any such coins could take them to the mints and receive other current coins in exchange, at the rate of twelve Pence for every piece. The term Shilling soon sup- planted the expression Testoon; Shakespeare uses Tester in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

  The Testoon first appeared in the Scottish coinage in 1553, but these pieces were struck in France by the mill and screw process. Their value was five Shillings.

La source

• Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)

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