Charles I (1625 - 49) Read about Charles I
Hammered Gold
Hammered Silver
Pontefract
Besieged
WJC-7639:
1648 Charles 1st
Civil War Pontefract Besieged Silver Shilling. Cut from silver plate literally inside Pontefract castle
whilst it was under attack by Cromwell’s forces, June 1649 – March 1649. Issued to pay the garrison defending the
castle, it was made by cutting any available silver bullion and plate. The
inscription 'DVM SPIRO SPERO' translates as “Whilst I breathe, I hope”. Struck the year prior to
the execution of Charles 1st. The rarer of the two varieties with no mark of value – S.R. 3148. Ex Fred Rist,
ex DNW, ex M.H. Coins.
Particularly high grade – these suffered quickly from wear, often being
kept as touch-pieces by local and bereft supporters during the dark days of the
Commonwealth that followed. 5.59 grams,
43mm tip to tip. There is a slight Z
bend to the coin which has resulted in minor wear to those corresponding high
points. Equally as good grade as the
S.R. plate coin, bar the contemporary piercing, but interestingly from a
different obverse die – this coin has obverse pellet stops with no stop after
SPERO. The reverse die is the same. Find another for sale in such high
grade! £3,995
Other Civil War Provincial Issues
Pounds
WJC-7474: 1642 Charles 1st
Shrewsbury Declaration Civil War Pound of Twenty Shillings. King on horseback, plume
behind; Declaration between two straight lines, three Shrewsbury plumes
above, five pellets to the left of the declaration. S.R. 2917, North 2361, Brooker 796. A
most interesting (unique?) coin struck in lead alloy, but being almost of the
correct weight (or at least it would have been if the silver plating was still
intact) of the silver example, which it needed to be in order to pass as the
real thing. However, lead is nearly 10%
heavier than silver, so there must have been some clever metallurgical
manipulation of the alloy in order to get this so precisely to just under 120g
with the correct diameter (54mm) and thickness (5mm)! Sold with an old auction
information slip as well as a collector’s cabinet ticket. I have never seen anything like this before –
it was certainly an ambitious undertaking by the counterfeiter. £575
Halfcrowns
WJC-9029: 1643 Charles 1st CIVIL
WAR Hammered Silver Declaration Half Crown.
Initial mark Acorn
between x4 pellets / BR over BR.
Tower mint under the Parliament - Civil War provincial
Bristol mint. Brooker 973, S.R. 3006. The generic reverse "Declaration", deriving
from the one Charles 1st made at Wellington, Shropshire in September of 1642, basically continues to promise
to uphold three things: the Protestant religion, the laws of England and the liberty of Parliament. I imagine that in hindsight, when this coin
was struck, just two years after he made that promise, Charles would have had
serious doubts as to how wise he was to include the last bit of the promise
although to be fair, he probably had more important things going on in his head
at the time (something else he would lose in January 1649)! A most interesting feature of this coin is
the reverse: a small BR overstruck on a large BR! The Brooker example does not over this overstamp. High
grade, good weight, the possibly unique small BR overstruck on a large BR
variety and an excellent provenance, being from a Civil War coin hoard. £2,495
Provenance
Ex Ansty
(Dorset) Civil War Hoard, 2019 - comprised of x234 coins, dispersed by...
Ex Spink
WJC-7964:
Choice 1644
Charles 1st Hammered Silver Bristol Declaration Halfcrown. Initial mark Plume, Tower mint under the Parliament
- Civil War provincial Bristol mint. Brooker (obverse D) 985, S.R. 3009. The generic reverse "Declaration",
deriving from the one Charles 1st made at Wellington, Shropshire in September of 1642, basically continues to promise
to uphold three things: the Protestant religion, the laws of England and the liberty of Parliament. I imagine that in hindsight, when this coin
was struck, just two years after he made that promise, Charles would have had
serious doubts as to how wise he was to include the last bit of the promise
although to be fair, he probably had more important things going on in his head
at the time (something else he would lose in January 1649)! A most interesting feature of this coin is
the reverse BR overstruck on an inverted BR! It is a single die-corrected error. Brooker had but a single example (#985) at
15.60g. Most group D Bristol halfcrowns
were struck on slightly over-generous planchets even though anything over the
15g face value was literally giving money away for free. The Brooker examples are: 14.53g, 15.08g,
15.59g and 15.60g, but this coin at just under 16g (15.89
grams) is something else! Most
halfcrowns, discounting any form of clipping, are by definition going to be
just under 15g due to circulation and wear taking off hundredths of grams. 15.89g, together with the high grade of this
coin, indicates practically zero loss, if not literally zero loss of
weight through circulation. Ex T.
Matthews, sold to the Haddenham collection in 1984
for £210, ex Spink. High
grade, exceptional weight, the desirable and sought-after BR overstruck on an
inverted BR variety and excellent provenance.
To give a comparison as to where the market is right now (and if the
past is anything to go by, this coin will quickly appreciate even more as time
goes by), and to really show how cheap this coin actually is, I highlight an
example from a 2024 US
fixed price list. The grade is just
about comparable (the US coin, even though it's graded "nEF", is a tad below the grade of the coin listed for
sale here, but we'll let that pass) and the VF price for both in S.R. is identical. So far, so good. Now, the US coin is underweight, and by some margin (clipped),
has no desirable sought-after feature (ie is not a rarer variety), doesn't have
as good a provenance and is much more expensive. I think the point is made. As I said at the start, this is a choice
coin. £2,395
WJC-7941:
Charles 1st Hartelbury Castle Late Provincial Civil War Halfcrown. From the excessively rare Hartlebury Castle, Worcester mint with initial mark pear/three
pears. Struck 1646. Obverse: CAROLVS · D : G · MAG · BRI[T · F]RAN · ET · HIB · REX - Charles on
horseback left, holding reins with left hand and sword in right. Reverse: CH[RISTO :
AVSPIC]E : REGNO - garnished coat-of-arms; H C in lower garnish. Bull 679 (same
dies); Brooker 1137 (same dies); North 2626; S.R. 3129 (plate coin same dies) -
you've guessed it; there was only a single pair of dies cut. All examples appear to have been struck en medaille. The
Brooker coin is perhaps the overall best example in private hands. It was 14.92g. The Colin Adams example (14.81g) was better
grade (abt EF) but it was on a very irregular flan and not struck up at all at 6 o'clock (both sides). It sold for $22,500. The Hulett example
(I only mention it as it is a significant coin through provenance alone) is a
lesser grade coin and the Cumberland Clark example, whilst comparable in grade
to this coin, suffers from the usual irregular flan and some significant
obverse field gauges. This coin, being
as regular in shape as you're ever likely to see, is ex Roderick Richardson
(described as "Strong strike on obv, Toned
& Good Very Fine. Very Rare"), selling for £6,750 several
years ago. The market has roared ahead
since then, perhaps more so than at any other period. Accompanied with this old sale's cutting. Hartlebury Castle, the residence of the Bishop of
Worcester, was fortified and held by Charles 1st's Royalist supporters
throughout the Civil War (1642-1646) by a garrison of 120 men commanded by
Captain William Sandys. In 1646, Colonel Thomas
Morgan, under Tomas Fairfax, besieged the castle. Though prepared for a lengthy siege, the
castle actually surrendered without a single shot being fired after being
besieged by the Parliamentarians for only two days, which is
definitely not that long a period to both cut dies and produce emergency
besieged coinage along the lines of Newark and Pontefract!! It will come as no surprise to anyone to
learn that they only produced halfcrowns and only a tiny handful at that. In summary, this is one of the best examples
of a Hartelbury Castle halfcrown available to commerce,
being GVF and problem-free. £7,895
WJC-9012:
Charles 1st
1643/4 Civil War Provincial Mint Half Crown. EBOR below king on rearing
horse – York mint.
Type 6, third horseman, initial mark Lion (ii), 227.7 grains, S.R. 2868,
Bull 572, Besly 3-E.
A most impressive selection of old tickets /
provenance (see here
and here). This coin was the plate coin in Maurice
Bull’s seminal publication, The Halfcrowns of Charles 1st. Described as VF on Maurice
Bull’s ticket. £1,885
Provenance:
July 1971
dealer ticket (£50 increased to £65)
ex Spink
Circular (November 1974)
ex
Maurice Bull collection (plate coin)
ex MH
Coins
Shillings
WJC-7782:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Provincial Civil War Shilling. Initial Mark Book, Aberystwyth mint, 1638/9-42. Larger plume before king’s
head - S.R. 2883. The mint at
Aberystwyth had its beginnings in July 1637 when Thomas Bushell
had the idea of coining at the source rather than sending the mined silver for
coining to London.
He petitioned that it would stimulate the Welsh mining industry with
predictions of increased output if the adits to drain
water from the mines reached their capacity, and suggested it could lead to
other mines in England being used for coining in a
similar fashion. The Mint in London was against the idea, but King
Charles asked for Bushell to visit and was persuaded
by his charm to back him. The agreement was to set up a mint in Aberystwyth Castle with the Crown taking a 10% share
with overall supervision from the Warden of the Mint, Sir William Parkhurst. Coins were struck at 0.925 fineness with Welsh
plumes at Halfcrown, Shilling, Sixpence, Half-Groat and Penny. Excellent provenance -
original Hulett ticket. Rare. £1,395
WJC-7103:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial mark Book – Aberystwyth mint, 1638/9-42. This is the much rarer earlier type - S.R.
2881. Slabbed by NGC at VF35 and compared to the S.R. plate coin, presumably
the best example they could find with their many contacts and resources, this
coin is so much better. The mint at
Aberystwyth had its beginnings in July 1637 when Thomas Bushell
had the idea of coining at the source rather than sending the mined silver for
coining to London.
He petitioned that it would stimulate the Welsh mining industry with
predictions of increased output if the adits to drain
water from the mines reached their capacity, and suggested it could lead to
other mines in England being used for coining in a
similar fashion. The Mint in London was against the idea, but King
Charles asked for Bushell to visit and was persuaded
by his charm to back him. The agreement was to set up a mint in Aberystwyth Castle with the Crown taking a 10% share
with overall supervision from the Warden of the Mint, Sir William Parkhurst. Coins were struck at 0.925 fineness with Welsh
plumes at Halfcrown, Shilling, Sixpence, Half-Groat and Penny. An extremely nice and
equally rare coin. £2,450
WJC-7758:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Civil War Declaration Shilling. Civil War Oxford Declaration issue, S.R.2972. Three Oxford plumes above the
declaration. At 6.27 grams, this is an OVERWEIGHT
coin. A quick look at data from other Oxford shillings (I recommend Brooker)
will show you that it is indeed rare to find coins at 6g or over. Even if they weren’t clipped and even if they
didn’t deliberately issue slightly underweight coins, then general wear through
circulation would reduce the weight by a few hundredths of a gram. This coin is not clipped, rather struck on an
irregular flan. It is about as it left
the mint – don’t forget there was a war on at the time and quality of coinage
was virtually irrelevant compared to the silver content. £945
WJC-8075:
1645 Charles
1st ASHBY-de-la-ZOUCH Hammered Silver Declaration Shilling. Crowned bust of Charles,
left, mark of value behind. Ashby-de-la-Zouch
mint town. Late
declaration of the reverse, initial mark Plume, "A" particularly
clear below. 5.87g, 30 degrees
die rotation, Morris A-1, S.R. 3031 (the rarer of the two recorded dies). Brooker was unable to source this variety,
which in itself is astounding considering the comprehensiveness of that
collection, not to mention his resources, only having the lesser plumelet-before-king example (Brooker 1120). For those interested, "A" (Ashby)
and "B" (Bridgnorth) coins are subject to some discussion as to whether
the geographical attributions are actually correct or not. A and B mint coins are certainly linked
(following the fall of Ashby on 28th February 1646, the garrison then marched
to Bridgnorth which fell on 26th April 1646), although saying that, there are
no recorded, unambiguous B over A coins, which we might expect. These "A" coins, whilst S.R. is
saying Ashby-de-la-Zouch, are the subject of much numismatic and historical
debate: Most examples (and admittedly
they are very rare indeed) turn up along the Welsh Borders or in Wales (I'm
cognisant of an unsubstantiated tale of an Ashby shilling being found literally
in the church wall at Ashby by workmen last century but it may well be
apocryphal), which is absolutely nowhere near Ashby. Abergavenny has
been put forward as an alternative but with nothing other than circumstantial
evidence, so far. However, the silver
content of A and B mint coins have a higher than required silver content -
metrology indicates that the silver is finer than .925 and so the source could
well be captured and subsequently recycled ducatoons
which were .950 fine. This would require
the mint to be at or near a port, a box Ashby-de-la-Zouch most definitely does
not tick but one Abergavenny does. I recommend this discussion thread: https://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/5516-civil-war-a-mint-discussion/ .
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Abergavenny, some other
"A" city, or indeed an "on-the-hoof", non fixed town
"A" mark - it doesn't really matter in terms of the actual coin
because location will be resolved at some point in the future. For the moment, we go with S.R. and
Ashby-de-la-Zouch. One of the tickets
suggests the coin was fashioned from a silver spoon (along the lines of the Newark siege pieces). I seem to recall having a conversation with
Dave Sims about this many years ago, so it's probably his ticket. A good
provenance with various old tickets. Graded about VF, which is all the more
impressive when you discover that the issue, miniscule though it was, was
poorly executed at both die and mint stage.
Indeed, the S.R. plate coin, presumed the best example S.R. could lay
their hands on with their vast resources, is a full grade down from this coin
(the "A" is barely discernable), something you don't see very
often! A rare offering
indeed. £7,475
Provenance:
ex DNW
(2013)
ex Tim
Owen
ex
Dave Sims collection
ex HistoryInCoins
ex
Simon Mote collection
ex Baldwins?
WJC-9113:
CHOICE 1646
Charles 1st Hammered Silver Shilling - BRIDGNORTH-on-SEVERN. Late declaration Civil War
coin. Initial mark Plume over a
very clear ligated BR, plumelet
before the king, XII behind. Reverse
with a scroll above the declaration. Bridgnorth-on-Servern. Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Bridgnorth-on-Severn
mints have a close association with Bristol.
It is thought that after Bristol surrendered in September of 1645,
the moneyers upped sticks and ended up at the two above locations, first Ashby
and then Bridgnorth, again plying their trade as moneyers but crucially, using
altered Bristol dies. The
halfcrowns adopted A and B initials under the horse. It should be noted here that both Ashby and Bridgnorth
are tentative attributions - I refer the reader to the Ashby-de-la-Zouch
shilling (WJC-8075) listed on this website and the accompanying write
up. This example, benefiting enormously
from its high grade, is actually S.R. 3040, not 3039 (or 3039a) as
stated. It is very much an altered Bristol obverse die, hence the initial
mark Plume over a very clear ligated BR, but where
S.R. 3039A has nothing in front of the king's face,
this coin has a somewhat crude plume added.
As such, this would appear to have started out life as a Bristol obverse die, was then taken to
Ashby-de-la-Zouch (or wherever mint "A" was, if indeed it even was a
fixed location) when Bristol fell, where it probably had some
use producing the Ashby S.R. 3031. It
was then transported to Bridgnorth-on-Servern (the same caveat as Ashby, but this time
mint "B"), when Ashby fell on 26th April 1646, where it possibly saw
some use producing S.R. 3039A before finally being altered one more time to
give both a plume before the face and a plumelet as
an initial mark - S.R. 3040. Quite a
journey! Of equal significance, being
already alluded to above, is the grade of this coin,
especially after the die had been through so much. A bold VF (your bog-standard straight VF
price in S.R. is £3,500) being bright and lustrous with a hint of cabinet
toning. That's erring on the
conservative side - I rate this coin as being not far off EF in grade, albeit
with a slight double strike on the obverse, as a lot of these Bridgnorth coins
seemed to attract. If not the best
example known by grade (I think the Brooker example was fairly comparable),
certainly top three. It would be an
interesting exercise to see how the likes of NGS assess the grade of this
coin. Finally, the all important
provenance. In 1913,
immediately prior to the onset of World War One, Alfred Leonard Fuller of Bath (born 1870, died 1941) purchased
this coin, by private treaty, for the princely sum of exactly one pound. Most unusually, that coin stayed within the
same collection, within the same family, for well over 100 years! Choice, choice, choice! £3,375
Sixpence
WJC-7979:
1646 Charles 1st Hammered
Silver Civil War Declaration Sixpence.
Initial mark B - Bridgenorth on Severn. A
single denomination issue (there were x4 variations of the halfcrown and x3 for
the shilling), with only two recorded dies for both obverse and reverse. S.R. 3041. During the Civil War, Bridgnorth was one of
the Midlands' main royalist strongholds, and in
1642 many royalist troops were garrisoned there. On April 26,
1646,
following on directly from the taking of Ashby, Cromwell's Roundheads arrived
with orders to take Bridgnorth for the Parliamentarians from the garrison led
by Sir Robert Howard. After a short
three-week siege, even though Bridgnorth was always expected to hold out for
much longer, Cromwell was successful and he ordered that the castle be
demolished. For those interested, these
"A" (Ashby) and "B" (Bridgnorth) coins are subject to some
discussion as to whether the geographical attributions are actually correct or
not. A and B mint coins are certainly
linked (following the fall of Ashby on 28th February 1646, the garrison then
marched to Bridgnorth which fell on 26th April 1646), although saying that,
there are no recorded, unambiguous B over A coins, which we might expect. Bridgnorth produced a relatively large number
of different dies for such a short siege - at least 3 halfcrown obverses, 5
reverses; shillings 2 obverses & 3 reverses; sixpences 2 of each; groats 1
obverse and 2 reverses; threepences 1 of each; half groat 1 of each. This may have been forward-planning, based on
the above expectation that the garrison would not capitulate so quickly. It is the "A" coins that are the
biggest problem: most examples (and admittedly they are very rare indeed) turn
up along the Welsh Borders or in Wales (I'm cognisant of an unsubstantiated
tale of an Ashby shilling being found literally in the church wall at Ashby by
workmen last century but it may well be apocryphal), which is nowhere near
Ashby. Abergavenny
has been put forward as an alternative but with nothing other than
circumstantial evidence, so far.
However, the silver content of A and B mint coins have a higher than
required silver content - metrology indicates that the silver is finer than
.925 and so the source could well be captured and subsequently recycled ducatoons which were .950 fine. This would require the mint to be at or near
a port, a box Ashby most definitely does not tick. Toned VF for issue. Ex T. Matthews, sold to the
Haddenham collection 1985, ex Spink. £1,995
Halfgroat
WJC-9030: Charles 1st CIVIL WAR
Provincial Mint Hammered Silver Half Groat.
Initial mark Plain
(small) Cross over Lis. Tower mint under the Parliament - Civil War provincial Oxford mint with the iconic reverse Large Plume in the entire
field. Morrieson dies B1,
Brooker 965, S.R. 2996.
A much nicer coin in the hand compared with the pitiable images I
took. Excellent
provenance. £395
Provenance
Ex Clarenden
collection, dispersed by...
Ex Bonham's (2006, lot 1437,
sold £188)
Ex Spink (2011, lot 254, sold
£160 + 30% buyer commission)
Ex Spink, sold 2015 at the
London Coin Fair
Ex Tim Owen (his early yellow
ticket)
Standard
Issues
Crowns
WJC-9165: Charles 1st Hammered
Silver Full Crown with Important Provenance. The Welsh Plumes crown. Tower mint under the king, Gp.II, type 2b1, initial mark Plume, 1630-31, S.R. 2756. Provenance going back to 1916 when this coin
was illustrated in BNJ (Silver Coins of the Tower Mint of Charles, Part One,
The Crowns, pp 181-194 and plates 1-5 with plate 2, fig. 4 being this coin) by
Grant R. Francis - there are still hints of the red wax to be found on this
coin from that process. John William
Gaze owned this coin pre WW2 - his collection dispersed May 1935 just before
his death. Gaze was a Nottingham man who invented the ring plug to go on WW1 shells but antithetical to
that was his work at the outset of the war: he designed the 'Scarlet Pimpernel'
Red Cross flower, which resulted in nearly £9,000 being raised for the purpose
of purchasing motor ambulances for the Army. They proved of great service in
removing the wounded, and as a slight acknowledgement of his services in this
direction, the Mayor of Nottingham, on behalf of the Buffaloes, presented Mr.
Gaze with a gold jewel on 15 November 1917. Not resting
on his laurels, it was Mr. Gaze who originated the idea of the badge scheme,
which was submitted to Winston Churchill and later adopted for all war
workers. See large image here for
various details. A
very desirable coin for a variety of reasons. 
£2,985
Provenance:
1916 - Grant R. Francis submitted this coin for
illustration and reference in BNJ, "Silver Coins of the Tower Mint of
Charles, Part One, The Crowns"
1920 (24th March) sold through Glendinings,
lot 106 (£2,12,6), described at "A rare
variety"
1920 (24th March) bought by John William Gaze
1935 (22nd-23rd May) sold through Glendinings,
this coin not listed in their catalogue, presumed sold privately to Baldwin clients pre-sale. See here
1985 - ex T. Matthews, sold to
the Haddenham Collection
2023 - ex Spink's dispersal of
the Haddenham Collection
2023 - ex HistoryInCoins, sold for
£2,985 ...
2023 - ex John Williams' collection
Halfcrowns
WJC-7962:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Halfcrown. Initial mark Triangle-in-Circle, 1641-3, Gp.
IV, fourth horseman, 15.07 grams.
Tower
mint under the king. S.R. 2779. Issued right
at the very end of the period where Charles 1st had any kind of association
with the Tower Mint - Parliament took control in 1643 and the rest is
history! Civil War was about to break out in England and as such, the quality of the coinage was as nothing
compared to simply rushing coinage out of the mint as a vehicle for paying for
the war. Hastily sunk dies with a
workforce not all at the top of their game, together with the frenetic expeditious
production of coinage leading up to the Civil War resulted in poor quality
currency being dumped into circulation, although it is important to understand
that the silver content was very much up to standard. This coin is slightly over full weight - it
is actually quite rare to see halfcrowns at 15g or more as any extra silver in
the coin was literally giving money away for free. This coin must indicate practically zero loss
of weight through circulation, it being an irregular flan, not clipped, as
explained above, and the high grade certainly backs that up. Brooker had x6 initial
mark Triangle-in-Circle halfcrowns (weights: 14.98g, 15.5g, 15.23g, 13.58g,
14.66g and 15.29). This coin is as good
(or marginally better) than the best of the Booker six (#373) and much better
than the other five. Remember, Brooker
was a serious collector with deep pockets who was on the lookout for the very
best examples of Charles 1st coinage for his collection. A rare offering
indeed. Ex
Lloyd Bennet, ex Ian Davison. £545
WJC-7963:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Halfcrown. Initial mark Tun, 1636-8, Gp. III, third horseman, type 3a1. Tower mint under the king. Very good weight at 14.89
grams. S.R.
2773. Brooker had x6 type 1 initial
mark Triangle-in-Circle halfcrowns (weights: 14.88g, 15.11g, 14.52g, 14.70g,
14.96g and 14.67). This coin is actually
better grade than ALL of the Booker six, and by some margin. Remember, Brooker was a serious collector
with deep pockets who was on the lookout for the very best examples of Charles
1st coinage for his collection. A rare offering indeed.
£495
WJC-7361:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Stuart Halfcrown.
Tower mint (London) under the king. Group III, type 3a1. Third Horseman, initial mark Tun: 1636-38. S.R. 2773. £255
WJC-7757:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Civil War Halfcrown.
Initial mark Triangle, class 3a2: rough ground under the horse, S.R.
2776. A remarkable coin in that the
weight is exactly as it should be – 15.00 grams. A quick look at data from other 3a2
halfcrowns will show you that it is indeed rare to find 15g coins. Even if they weren’t clipped and even if they
didn’t deliberately issue slightly underweight coins, then general wear through
circulation would reduce the weight by a few hundredths of a gram. This coin is about as it left the mint and
you won’t find many of those, either individually or from hoards. £365
WJC-7921:
Charles 1st Hammered
Silver High Grade Halfcrown. Initial mark Triangle-in-Circle, Tower (London) mint under the king. Group IV, fourth horseman, type 4, foreshortened
horse. S.R. 2779. Slabbed by PSC and graded XF45 which means EF
in the UK. Clearly this
is not an EF coin, even "EF45", whatever that means, but it is still
a remarkably good grade coin in terms of lack of wear through circulation. The grading system was brought about for
milled coinage, specifically milled US (ie virtually everything 1800 onwards
but realistically, 20th century) coinage, and was never designed or intended
for these hammered coins. Re this coin:
Civil War was about to break out in England and as such, the quality of the coinage was nothing
compared to simply rushing coinage out of the mint as a vehicle for paying for
the war. Hastily sunk dies with a
workforce not all at the top of their game, together with the frenetic expeditious
production of coinage leading up to the Civil War resulted in poor quality
currency being dumped into circulation, although it is important to understand
that the silver content was very much up to standard. What is key with
this coin is the remarkable 15.34g weight.
The weight was supposed to be 15g when a halfcrown left the mint. It rarely was (and if it was over, someone
would be in trouble) but whatever the weight, it soon diminished through wear
and tear, albeit only by hundredths of a gram.
To see something of this weight, whilst not entirely unprecedented, is
extremely rare indeed. It must indicate
practically zero loss of weight through circulation. A rare offering indeed. £595 RESERVED (J.W.7-10-24)
WJC-8163:
A+ Charles 1st
CIVIL WAR 1645 Hammered Silver Stuart Halfcrown. Group III, third horseman with no ground under the horse, type 3a3. Tower (London) mint under Parliament. Initial mark Eye, 1645.
S.R. 2775. A slightly irregular flan, typical of Civil
War issues but unbelievably, way more than full weight at 15.37g. Even allowing for absolutely no clipping or
reduction in weight through the minimal amount of circulation this coin has
had, it was still a third of a gram overweight which, especially in 1645 when
the Civil War was at its height and money was in short supply at the mint, was
giving money away - this coin was literally worth MORE than its halfcrown face
value. Brooker had only x3 in his extremely impressive and comprehensive
collection (one of those was a strange anomaly - halfcrown dies struck on a
shilling flan of 5.91g), so he effectively only had two. Neither is a patch on this one and both of
his were 14.80 and 14.40 grams respectively.
Incidentally, the old Spink slip states that the coin is bent. It most certainly is not bent. When the moneyers struck these larger
denominations, it was two dies, a COLD silver disc of 15g and a hammer swung by
the moneyer's arm. There could never be
enough force exerted with one single strike to make a good coin, especially as
moneyers were churning out coins all day long, so the practise was to hit the
coin x4 times, rotating through 90 degrees each time. You can literally see the x4 rotations on
this coin if you look at the obverse, starting at the C of CAROLVS. If you look carefully, you will see this
repeated on a great many better grade Commonwealth and Charles 1st higher
denomination coins. An
outstanding coin with everything going for it and one that I rate highly
indeed. £695
Provenance:
ex Spink (their ticket)
Shillings
WJC-7894:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Shilling. Tower
mint under the king. Initial mark Harp, 1632-3.
Group D, 4th bust, type 3.1. The official S.R. reference is S.R. 2789, but
the portrait style is seemingly unrecorded, as evidenced by the very early Tim
Owen ticket which states it is unrecorded in Brooker. It is indeed a remarkable portrait! A rare thing, worthy of
further research. £365
WJC-6902: 1645-46 Charles 1st
Very Late Issue Hammered Silver Shilling.
One of the last issues struck under Parliament.
Class 4(4).
S.R. 2800. Initial mark Sun. £165
WJC-7108:
Charles 1st
very late Civil War Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial mark ®, 1644-45, Briot bust, group F, S.R. 2800. Struck under Parliament, not the
King. Crudely made, reflecting
the turbulent times of the English Civil War.
£155
WJC-7115:
Charles 1st
1639-40 Hammered Silver Shilling. Tower mint, initial mint Triangle-in-Circle, type 4:4, S.R.
2799. Ex North York Moors’
collection. £185
WCJ-7557:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Tower Shilling.
Initial mark Portcullis: 1633-34.
Group D, fourth bust, type 3.1, Sharpe D5/1, S.R.
2789. Ex Carlton Coins
(£36 in Sept 1996), Alan Morris collection. £385
WJC-7756:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Civil War Shilling. Initial mark Sceptre, 1646-48. The final Tower mint under Parliament issue and struck
very much within the Civil War conflict.
Class 4(6) with a short, broad bust. Sharp H3/2. S.R. 2804. Considering the great rarity of this initial
mark, there are actually two varieties with this coin being the very last and
rarer issue. Charles 1st was imprisoned
for virtually the entirety of this initial mark: the end was nigh with the
Parliamentarian New Model Army very much in the ascendancy. A rare coin. £335
WJC-7788:
Charles 1st Hammered Silver
Civil War Shilling. Initial mark Sceptre, 1646-48. The final Tower mint under
Parliament issue and struck very much within the Civil War conflict, albeit
towards the inevitable (perhaps unfortunate?) conclusion. Class 4(6) with a shorter,
slimmer and altogether better proportioned bust. Sharp H2/2. S.R. 2803. Considering the great rarity of this initial
mark, there are actually two varieties with this coin being the first. Charles 1st was imprisoned for
virtually the entirety of this initial mark: the end was nigh with the
Parliamentarian New Model Army very much in the ascendancy, resulting in
Charles being beheaded in January 1649. A rare coin. £385
WJC-7920:
Charles 1st Hammered
Silver CIVIL WAR Hoard Shilling. Initial mark Tun, Tower (London) mint under the king. Group E,
Aberystwyth bust, type 4.3. S.R. 2796. From the famous Ewerby Civil War Hoard of
2016. The hoard was deposited in Ewerby
during the Civil War. It comprised
(roughly) 50% Elizabeth 1st coinage, 30% Charles 1st and the rest mainly James
1st.In relation to this particular shilling, it was one of exactly 237 to come
out of the hoard. It is really
interesting to note that the earlier coinage (Henry VIII onwards) was very worn indicating great circulation up until the hoard
was deposited in the ground. It is of
perhaps greater interest to learn that the Charles 1st coinage, obviously in
circulation for only a very few years, was itself pitifully poor. This had very little to do with wear through
circulation, rather the rushed dies and the frenetic expeditious production of
coinage leading up to the Civil War.
Information supplied by kind prior permission of Silbury
Coins who initially handled the hoard. A
booklet will be included with this coin, if so desired. This coin is one of the very best from the
hoard - I personally have not seen better and I've seen and handled a great
deal of this hoard. A
rare opportunity. £495
WJC-8099: Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial
mark Tun (1636-8), group E, Aberystwyth bust, single
arched crown. Tower mint under the
King, S.R. 2796. Ex Tim Owen. £325
WJC-8141:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Shilling. Initial mark Bell, 1634-5, Tower (London) mint under
Parliament. Group D, fourth bust, type 3a with no inner
wire circles - S.R. 2791. A good grade, centrally
struck, unclipped coin from the very start of the troubles: the unpopular
"Ship Money" taxation was imposed in 1634 and just three years later
in 1637, under the influence of Archbishop Laud, Charles tried to impose the
English Liturgy on the Scots who, true to form, raised an army to resist the
imposition. So much history followed on
from when this coin was struck. £295
Sixpence
WJC-7961:
1625 Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial
mark Lis, Tower mint under the king, Gp.
A, first bust, type 1: small bust with double arched crown. S.R. 2805. Issued right at the very
start of the reign, so much so that the king is literally depicted in his
coronation robes on this coin.
These early dated sixpences are all fairly rare, although 1625 is not
the rarest date. What elevates this coin
is the grade. Collectors will be aware
that nearly all dated Charles 1st sixpences turn up worn or damaged. This one is exceptional for issue. £495
WJC-8061: 1626 Charles 1st Stuart
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Cross Calvery, the rarer
1626 date, Group B, class 1a1, second bust, S.R.
2807. The king in ruff, armour
and mantle - they didn't change the portrait throughout the short dated
series. Some double striking. Ex Ian Davison, the go-to
expert on sixpences. £385
WJC-7100:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Group D, type 3a.
Struck just before the English Civil War in 1636-38 but still in a
period where little care was taken with both the actual dies and the quality of
the coinage itself. £125
WJC-7101:
Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Group F, type 4:3.
Struck just before the English Civil War in 1636-38 but still in a
period where little care was taken with both the actual dies and the quality of
the coinage itself. £125
Pence &
smaller
WJC-6737: Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Half Penny. Rose each side, no initial mark, S.R. 2581. Nice
grade. £55
"Other"
WJC-8038: 1643
Charles 1st Civil War PEACE OR WAR Silver Medal MI(i)308/134, Eimer 142. Struck as a direct response to the defeat of Waller, which led to
the capture and reduction of Bristol by
the Royalists under Prince Rupert. It was
Charles 1st himself who ordered the medal after he summoned his council and
asked them to “consider how these great blessings in war might be applied to
the procurement [sic] (of) a happy peace”. Interesting as that is,
and it is undoubtedly extremely interesting and historically significant, from
a numismatic POV it’s even more interesting: although a Thomas Rawlins’ design,
there are a number of “short-cuts” in the execution of the dies which leads one
to believe that this was a somewhat rushed job, which indeed it must have been
when you consider what was going on in the country at that time. However,
it’s always nice to see confirming evidence and the following, albeit
implicitly, does serve to illustrate that:
1. The cross barrings on the obverse A’s in particular look to be
additions to inverted letter V’s, although not the specific V’s used in the
legends.
2. The T of ET (obv) is very much a modified letter I gone wrong. Someone
looks to have lightly tapped either side at the top to attempt a top
horizontal, although clearly it’s manifested on the medal as incuse.
3. The E of Rex was
clogged up by silver so is not fully struck up – another indication of haste?
4. The reverse T’s are
again modified letter I’s.
5. The reverse P is yet
another modified letter I.
There are other issues with most of the
remaining lettering. First impressions upon seeing the reverse might
be that Charles is asking a question, but in actual fact it was simply a
statement of fact, stating that they were ready for both eventualities and
given Charles’s quote to the council, one option appeared to be favoured over
the other! Just in case you need
yet another interesting fact, these medals were sometimes circulated as
shillings, although at 8.14g, it would have been something of a fiscally inept
road to go down. £485
WJC-9001: Charles 1st Silver
Royalist Supporters' Badge. Side profile of King Charles 1st,
reverse incuse crowned Royal arms.
Importantly, the suspension loop is intact. Medallic Illustrations (i) 233/235, Eimer 173. Probably by Thomas Rawlins. Cast and slightly chased. The solid gold die pair of this medal resides
in the British Museum.
Charles 1st was likely deceased at this point as this was a Commonwealth
period Royalist badge - something tangible for Royalists to focus on during the
disagreeable rule of Cromwell. They were
often sewn into the inside of clothing so as not to be on show, for obvious
reasons. A very nice
example. £595
WCom-9043:
1642 Robert Deveraux English Civil War Silver-Gilt Military Reward
Medal. 3rd Earl of Essex (1591-1646), Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief
of the Parliamentary army. Oval, silver-gilt military reward (given out
personally by Deveraux to one of his commanders for
outstanding conduct in battle), c.1642.
Obverse: armoured bust, almost full-facing, sash over shoulder, broad lace
collar; reverse: oval, garnished shield of the arms of Essex.
31.5 x 22mm. MI(i) 298/117, Platt II, type G pp. 84-85. Robert Devereux was the third Earl of Essex,
born 11th January 1591,
died 14th September 1646. Serving in the first
Scottish Bishops war in 1639 in the capacity of Lieutenant general under
Charles 1st, gradually becoming disillusioned and eventually deserting the
Royalists. As was the case with
so many, he joined the Parliamentarians becoming an opponent of Charles I. Essex had integral
roles in the Battle of Edgehill October
1642, Battle of Brentford and Turnham Green, November 1642 and
the first battle of Newbury in September of 1643. Devereux for the most part is inextricably
linked to his role in the English Civil Wars, chief commander of the
Parliamentarians, known colloquially as the 'Roundheads.' He was eventually overshadowed by Cromwell
and Fairfax. VF. Good provenance - the Christopher Foley
collection was one of the best ever put together. Of the highest historical
importance and very, very rare indeed.
See Commonwealth section
Provenance:
Baldwin's 2018
ex Christopher Foley Collection, dispersed 2014
WJC-9094: Stuart De Passe Token - James 1st with Charles 1st. Circa 1625 -
1629/30. From a series
of Medalets issued by Simon van de Passe (1595-1647) depicting the kings and queens of England.
It is generally accepted that they were issued as gaming tokens. The dies were cleverly sunk to imitate a
hand-engraved appearance and indeed, the uninitiated even today will readily
state hand-engraved when asked. They
were not; they were machine-pressed.
There is a commoner Charles 1st De Passe token
with his wife, Henrietta Maria, on the reverse but this token, issued when
Charles 1st was on the throne, is unusual in that it
depicts two monarchs. Mitchener 4784. Rare. See
James 1st section
