16th Century English money was solid, heavy, and made from precious metals. While the history of lightweight money in the form of promissory notes dates back to nearly 150BC in Carthage, by Tudor times money was made of (mostly) gold and silver. Some coins, like the gold sovereign, looked like a modern day chocolate coin in terms of colour and size! Gold Sovereign, or £1, from the time of Elizabeth I At this time, the Martyn family of Athelhampton had huge amounts of wealth,
