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Extremely Rare and Magnificent King Charles II, Coronation 1661, official Solid Silver Medal, by Thomas Simon as you can see from the photos, this is as good as they get, the portrait to both sides are breathtaking this would be extremely hard to upgrade on. Obv: Crowned bust of Charles II in ermine robes, collar and George of the Garter. Legend: CAROLVS . II . D . G . ANG . SCO . FR . ET . HI . REX. (Charles II, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland). Rev: Peace hovering over the enthroned king and placing a crown on his head sceptre and orb in hand . Legend: EVERSO . MISSVS . SVCCVRRERE . SECLO . XXIII . APR . 1661. (Sent to support a fallen age, 23 April, 1661. - based on Virgil Georgis 1.500). MI I 472/76, plate XLV/7, Eimer 219, Fearon 112.1, Wollaston 5. Please see photos and study well, the more you look the more the detailing becomes apparent, I have put in numerous amounts of photos for this to be observed. It has a very nice toned appearance and has never been cleaned. These medals would have been given to the dignitary and attendee of the Coronation. King Charles II, son of Charles I who was beheaded on the orders of Sir Oliver Cromwell, once Cromwell was dead Charles was crowned King of England. The medal is dated 1661, five years before the Great Fire of London and at time when the plague was rife through England and Europe. Out of all medals the Coronation Medals are probably in the top five of collectable items and fast approaching 400 years old. This would be the icing on the cake for its condition or a great investment for the future.
Maker: Thomas Simon (c. 1623 – 1665), English medallist, was born, according to Vertue, in Yorkshire about 1623. He studied engraving under Nicholas Briot, and about 1635 received a post in connection with the Tower Royal Mint, London . In 1645 he was appointed by the parliament joint chief engraver along with Edward Wade, and, having executed the great seal of the Commonwealth and dies for the coinage, he was promoted to be chief engraver to the mint and seals. He produced several fine portrait medals of Cromwell one of which is copied from a miniature by Cooper After the Restoration he was appointed engraver of the king's seals. On the occasion of his contest with the brothers Roettier, who were employed by the mint in 1662, Simon produced his celebrated and most famous crown of Charles II. On the margin of which he engraved a petition to the king. This is usually considered his masterpiece. He is believed to have died of the plague in London in 1665.
Size: 29mm
Condition: EF. I have seen many examples that are worn, this is probably the best example I have seen in 30 years.
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| Code: 5265Price: £1850.00 |
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Extremely Rare Oliver Cromwell Issued Dunbar Medal 1650. Extremely RARE silver medal Commissioned by Thomas Simon, struck at Royal Tower Mint (Tower of London 1650).The medal, was issued to both officers (in gold) and men (in silver), of Cromwell's army who fought at the Battle of Dunbar, on September 3rd 1650, (I believe this one was issued to an Officer as it still has remains of the gold gilding finish). The obverse shows a fine portrait of Sir Oliver Cromwell facing left, hair long, in plain falling collar, with armour, and in the distance a scene of the battle and the words “THE LORD OF HOSTS” (the battle cry of that day). The reverse shows Parliament assembled in one house, with the Speaker. The medal has a ring for suspension and measures approx 33 mm tall (excluding the suspension ring) and about 27mm wide. See Medallic Illustrations, volume 1, page 391. In 1650 Parliament resolved that a special medal should be struck for presentation to all ranks who fought in the battle. The Dunbar medal was the first of its kind for an English army; there was not to be another until the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The medals were issued to officers and soldiers, An extremely rare and interesting artefact from one of Oliver Cromwell’s’ most famous battle during the English Civil War.
Battle of Dunbar 1650
Following Parliamentary victory in the first and the second Civil Wars, Charles I had been executed in January 1649 on the orders of Oliver Cromwell, and a Commonwealth declared in England. In June 1650 his son landed in Scotland, where he was proclaimed King Charles II. In July the English Parliament, expecting Charles to initiate a Scottish led campaign for the English crown, launched a pre-emptive invasion of Scotland. A largely veteran force of 10,000 foot Soldiers & 5000 horse back soldiers from the New Model Army was sent north under the command of Oliver Cromwell. Scottish forces numbering some 25,000 were raised in response, under the highly experienced David Leslie. On the morning of September 3rd 1650 the battle of Dunbar commenced. Cromwell quoted the 68th Psalm: "Now let God arise and his enemies be scattered." The battle of Dunbar lasted only two hours. Cromwell claimed that 3,000 Scots were killed in the rout and another 10,000 taken prisoner, for the loss of only thirty men of the Commonwealth army. All the Scottish artillery and baggage was captured and 2,000 colours taken. The wounded Scottish prisoners were released, but about 5,000 were marched south to Durham. Many died from sickness and hunger either on the eight-day march or during the subsequent period of imprisonment in Durham Cathedral. The survivors were ultimately transported to New England or Barbados as indentured laborers’. This would go down in history as one of Oliver Cromwell’s most famous victories.
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| Code: 5263Price: |
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This is a MAGNIFICENT, original, 17th-century silver medal, struck in 1625 to commemorate the marriage of King Charles I and Henrietta Maria. The obverse bears a beautiful portrait busts of King Charles and his Queen face-to-face with rays from heaven above, Charles with head bare, in a ruff collar, Henrietta with jewelled hair and wearing earrings necklace and dress with a stiff ruff. A legend in Latin translates as CHARLES THE GREAT AND HENRIETTA MARIA KING AND QUEEN OF BRITAIN. The reverse shows Cupid walking, scattering roses and lilies, above, rays from heaven, and a legend in Latin LOVE POURS OUT LILLIES MINGLED WITH ROSES.
Size: 23mm diameter, the example here is superb with very fine detail still clearly visible - the best example of this medal I have ever seen. Absolutely stunning, a beautiful early 17th century artefact that would grace any collection, fast approaching an incredible 400 years old.
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) The second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. His paternal grandmother was Mary, Queen of Scots. Charles was baptised on 23 December 1600 by the Bishop of Ross, in a ceremony held in Holyrood Abbey He was King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. On 11 May 1625, Charles was married by proxy to Henrietta Maria in front of the doors of the Notre Dame de Paris before his first Parliament could meet to forbid the banns. Many members were opposed to the king marrying a Roman Catholic, fearing that Charles would lift restrictions on Roman Catholics and undermine the official establishment of Protestantism. Although he stated to Parliament that he would not relax restrictions . Charles' last years were marked by the English Civil War, in which he fought the forces of the English and Scottish Parliaments, which challenged the king's attempts to overrule and negate Parliamentary authority, whilst simultaneously using his position as head of the English Church to pursue religious policies which generated the antipathy of reformed groups such as the Puritans. Charles was defeated in the First Civil War (1642–45), after which Parliament expected him to accept its demands for a constitutional monarchy. He instead remained defiant by attempting to forge an alliance with Scotland and escaping to the Isle of Wight. This provoked the Second Civil War (1648–49) and a second defeat for Charles, Against Sir Oliver Cromwell , he was subsequently captured, tried, convicted, and executed for high treason. The monarchy was then abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England, under the rule of Sir Oliver Cromwell ( also known as the king killer )
Execution: Charles Stuart, as his death warrant states, was beheaded on Tuesday, 30 January 1649. At the execution it is reputed that he wore two cotton shirts as to prevent the cold weather causing any noticeable shivers that the crowd could have mistaken for fear or weakness. The execution took place at Whitehall London on a scaffold in front of the Banqueting House. Charles was separated from the people by large ranks of soldiers, and his last speech reached only those with him on the scaffold. He declared that he had desired the liberty and freedom of the people as much as any, "but I must tell you that their liberty and freedom consists in having government.... It is not their having a share in the government; that is nothing appertaining unto them. A subject and a sovereign are clean different things."
Charles put his head on the block after saying a prayer and signalled the executioner when he was ready; he was then beheaded with one clean stroke. His last words were, "I shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be.
Henrietta Maria was born in Paris on 26 November 1609, the youngest daughter of King Henri IV of France and Marie de Medici. Her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, required a special dispensation from the Pope because it was the first time that a Catholic princess had married a Protestant prince. Politically, it was a move towards an alliance between France and England against Spain. The marriage took place in May 1625 when Henrietta was 15 and Charles was 24. During the 1630s, the Court of King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria was admired throughout Europe. Increasingly, King Charles discussed affairs of state with Henrietta Maria. He valued her opinions and advice, but because she remained a practising Roman Catholic. When the King needed money to finance the Bishops' Wars (1639-40), the Queen raised funds by appealing to English Catholics. Her further appeals to the Vatican itself fuelled Protestant fears of a Popish conspiracy against England. She was even suspected of inciting the Irish Uprising of 1641. Rumours that members of the Long Parliament were planning to impeach the Queen prompted King Charles to make his disastrous attempt to arrest the Five Members in January 1642. In February 1642, when civil war looked inevitable, Henrietta Maria left England for the Netherlands — the King galloping along the cliff tops to keep her ship in sight until the last sail had vanished below the horizon. She spent almost a year in The Hague, raising loans, buying weapons and recruiting troops for the Royalist cause. By selling or pawning jewels, she raised a large fortune (rumoured to be as high as two million pounds), which financed several convoys of weapons and ammunition and a company of veteran professional soldiers to fight for the King. Braving storms and attack by Parliament's warships, she returned to England in February 1643, landing at Bridlington in Yorkshire. She stayed with the Earl (later Marquis) of Newcastle at York until the summer, when Royalist victories in the Midlands made it relatively safe for her to move south at the head of her army, styling herself "Her She-Majesty, Generalissima". On 13 July 1643, she was reunited with the King, who had chosen the site of the battlefield of Edgehill as a suitably dramatic rendezvous. They made a triumphal entry into Oxford the following day. Henrietta Maria never fully recovered from the shock of the execution of King Charles in January 1649. After a period of retirement in a Carmelite convent, she wore black for the rest of her life.
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| Code: 5261Price: £400.00 |
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Solid Silver Queen Anne 1702 Coronation Medal. Designer John Croker. Superb detailing throughout the entire medal in a very fine condition. The piece was designed by John Croker who was the Tower Mint Medallist at that time.
Description: Bust of Queen Anne left facing, legend Anne.D:G:MAG:BR.F R.ET.HIB:Regina. Reverse Pallas Athene, left, with shield and lightening bolts attacking Receumbent monster, right, legend VICEM GERIT.ILLA.TONANTIS.Exergue. INAVGVRAT.XX11.AP.MDCCII(As making sounds she conducts herself. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714, daughter to King James II of England. Size 36mm
Anne adopted the same policy as William III in resisting the power of France. It is for this reason that the medal's reverse shows her as Pallas wielding the bolts of Jove. On the day after the death of William III, Anne addressed her Council for the first time and said, "I think it proper upon this occasion of my first speaking to you to declare my own opinion of the importance of carrying on all preparations we are making to oppose the great power of France and I shall lose no time in giving our Allies all assurances that nothing shall be wanting on my part to pursue the true interest of England, together with theirs, for the support of the common cause." John Croker's real name was Johann Crocker. Born in Dresden on 21 October, 1670, he was brought up as a jeweller but practised die-engraving from an early age. He came to England in 1691. In 1697 he was appointed Assistant Engraver to the Mint and Chief Engraver upon the death of Harris in 1705. Croker died on 21 March, 1741. Croker executed four pairs of dies for the above medal, all slightly varying but this is the official coronation medal.
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| Code: 5260Price: £750.00 |
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