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Hammered Silver "Declaration" Half Pound of Charles I Click to return to Hammered Coins IndexChard 24 Carat Home Page

Obverse of Charles I Oxford Mint Declaration Half Pound
Obverse of Charles I Oxford Mint Declaration Half Pound

Reverse of Charles I Oxford Mint Declaration Half Pound
Reverse of Charles I Oxford Mint Declaration Half Pound

Close-up of the Declaration
Close-up of the Declaration

Detail of Double Punching in the Inscription
Detail of Double Punching in the Inscription

Pound and Half Pound Silver Coins
Silver pound and half pound coins were only issued for a very few years during the troubled reign of Charles I, although a gold pound and half pound had been introduced under Elizabeth I. Because of the English Civil War, much of the coinage of Charles I was issued under emergency conditions. Half pound coins were issued between 1642 and 1646, at a small number of provincial mints, and must be considered to be among the most spectacular English coins ever produced. Our specimen measures 47mm in diameter and weighs 59.5 grams.

Oxford Mint
The Tower Mint had been under the control of the king from 1625 to 1642, after that it came under the control of Parliament. In addition to the Tower Mint in London, other provincial mints which operated in royalist areas under the King included Carlisle, Scarborough, Pontefract, Newark, Chester, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Shrewsbury, Aberystwyth, Bridgnorth, Hartlebury Castle, Worcester, Hereford, Oxford, Bristol and Exeter.

Obverse:
The King, portrayed on horseback, riding left, holding aloft a sword. The horse is shown trampling military arms underfoot. A plume of three feathers appears behind the king's head and also in the legend as a mint-mark.
CAROLUS D G MAGN BRIT FRAN ET HIB REX


Reverse:
A shortened version of the "Declaration" which Charles made in Wellington in September 1642, in which he promised to uphold the Protestant Religion, the Laws of England, and the Liberty of Parliament, shown in two lines across the centre of the coin. There are three plumes above, with "X" a mark of value meaning 10 shillings, and the date 1642 below.
REL PROT LEG ANG LIB PAR
Being an abbreviation for:-
RELIGIO PROTESTANTIUM LEGES ANGLIAE LIBERTAS PARLIAMENTI
Which translates as:-
The religion of the Protestants, the laws of England and the liberty of Parliament

Seaby catalogue # 2945

Price and Availability
GradeAvailabilityPrice £Price $
Very FineSold£1,000$1,600


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