England, Charles I
silver pound, 1642, Oxford mint
S-2940; KM-239.2; N-2398; Brooker-860.Stack's: Anaheim, CA, 10 Aug 2016, lot# 20574
(ex-The Rye Collection).
PCGS: VF Details, due to an old cleaning. No apparent hairlines although the color is a bit lighter.
The dent at the King's horse is an "as-made" flan flaw. I have been unable to find any reference
or provinence to the Rye Collection
Stack's description:
RARE. Smaller Shrewsbury horseman trampling arms which contain a cannon.
Very well struck with essentially no doubling anywhere, legends and inscriptions are full and complete. Some edge knocks as would be expected and there is a few small planchet flaws on the obverse near the King's knee. Some evidence of old cleaning which is now toning over with a light to medium gray color. A very nice example of this desirable large size silver piece.
Oxford was the King's wartime capitol city.
The reverse legend, surrounding the inner beaded circle, reads:
Let God Arise [and] Let His Enemies Be Scattered
-- (Psalm 68:1)
The PCGS listing: VF details
Tony Clayton's website on English coinage
Cell text color as set by CSS (font).
England, Commonwealth
crown, 1653
This is the very iconic crown of the English Commonwealth issued from 1649 until 56. This is not a coin that I own but was selected as an example with clear reverse lettering from which I created the background pattern for this page. It is also the highest graded specimen, an NGC-63, according to Heritage.
Corel Effect used to create the pg background:
Effects > Art Strokes: Watercolor
The 1649 dates are apparently quite rare as that was the year Charles I was beheaded. I wouldn't be surprised if Parliament had those issues struck in the 1650's but back dated to '49 as a commemorative.
England, Oliver Cromwell
Lord Protector, half crown, 1658
Peace is sought through War
This is Cromwell's motto as is shown on the back of this half crown.Technically these were coins of the Commonwealth, however near Cromwell's death in 1658 a few coins were issued dated 1656 and 1658. The '56 issues appear to be quite uncommon. These appear to be more than just patterns with some, particularly the shillings, showing evidence of extensive circulation.
Technically this is not an English Civil War period issue. The Civil War had largely ended by 1645 and the King, Charles I, was beheaded in 1649. However, Oliver Cromwell is so connected to the history of the period that I've decided to include one of his coins here.
A great movie on Cromwell is "Cromwell" 1970, historical drama film written and directed by Ken Hughes starring Richard Harris.