“The Queen coined new money specifically for the Company {East India}. Minted at the Tower of London and bearing her arms on one side and a portcullis on the other, it soon became know as the portcullis money. She also granted the merchants a new flag which, with its blue field and background of thirteen red and white stripes, prefigured the one adopted by the Thirteen Colonies of America some 175 years later.” American FlagElizabeth IThirteen Colonies Book:Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History Source: Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History