CHARLES I. (1625 to 1649).
Denominations.—Silver. Twenty-shilling-piece or Pound, Ten-shilling-piece or Half-pound, Crown, Half-crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat, Threepence, Half-groat, Penny, and Halfpenny.
Gold. Tower Mint. Unit, Broad, or Twenty-shilling-piece; Double-crown or Half-broad or Ten-shilling-piece; crown, Britain-crown, or Five-shilling-piece, Angel. Oxford Mint, Treble-Unit, or Three-Pound-piece; Unit or Twenty-shilling-piece; Half-unit, Double-crown, or Ten-shilling-piece. Briot’s Mint. Unit, Double-crown, or Half Unit, Angel.
Obverse.—Type. Twenty-shilling and Ten-shilling-piece, king on horseback with or without artillery, armour, arms, etc., under horse’s feet. Crowns and Half-crowns, king in armour on horseback, but with very many variations in detail. One description is as much as our limits will allow. The Oxford Crown, the rarest in the series, has the king on horseback, in armour, to the left, crowned, double-arched crown, drawn sword in his right hand, a sash round his neck, coming under his left arm, the ends flying behind; the horse not caparisoned, having only a saddle cloth. On the field of the coin, beneath the horse, is a view of the city of Oxford, with the word OXON above it. This coin is beautifully executed. Shilling, Half-shilling, Quarter-shilling, Groat, Half-groat, and Penny, sinister bust profile, in robes, crowned, hair long and flowing, beard long. Some Groats and Half-groats have a rose crowned as also have Pennies. Halfpenny, a rose, no legend, or a rose crowned between C. R. The variations in the coins, consequent on the number of mints set up—London, Exeter, Aberystwith, Oxford, Bristol, Chester, Worcester, Weymouth, York, and other places—is very great; the differences being more or less important both as to mint marks and other features.
Legend. C. CAR. or CAROLVS. D. G. MAGNA BRITAN. FRAN. ET HIBER. REX, variously abbreviated. Oxford Crown, CAROLVS. D. G. MAG. BRIT. FRAN. ET. HIBER. REX.
Reverse.—Type. Generally the royal shield. The Oxford Crown and some other coins have no device, except an ornament to divide the legends; and the Prince of Wales’ feathers three times repeated, or single, above. On some, the shield (which is as James I.’s) is oval, and mantled, sometimes crowned; others have shields, the quarterings terminating in a cross moline, etc. The smaller coins have sometimes a rose crowned, sceptres, or sceptre and trident in saltire, etc., or the declaration EXVRGAT, etc., in lines across. One Half-groat has two Cs interlinked, crowned.
Legend. Oxford Crown, EXVRGAT DEVS DISSIPENTVR INIMICI. In the field of the coin, in two parallel lines, is RELIG. PROT. LEG. ANG. LIBER. PARL., beneath which is 1644, OXON, and above v. for value. A branch of leaves and flowers between the words of the first. Others have CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO. Others IVSTITIA THRONVM FIRMAT, or TVEATVR VNITA DEVS. The groat has RELIG., etc., within a scroll on the field, EXURGAT, etc.
Rarity. For the most part common. The Oxford crown is of the most extreme rarity, and most of the Oxford mintages are rare, as are those of Aberystwith and other places.
Gold. Three-pound-piece, crowned profile bust to the waist, with or without sword and olive branch; feathers behind the head; reverse, declaration in three lines. Unit or Broad-piece, bust profile, crowned, much varied on some with drawn sword and olive branch; behind the head XX for value. Reverse: On field, RELIG., etc., on a ribband. Double-crown and Crown, bust profile crowned. Reverse. Shield crowned, CVLTORES. SVI. DEVS. PROTEGIT. Angel same type as its predecessors.
Copper.—Halfpence and Farthings, David playing the harp, looking upward; above, a crown, FLOREAT REX. Reverse: Halfpenny, St. Patrick in full robes, mitered, with crosier, etc., holding to figures around him the shamrock leaf; behind him the arms of Dublin. Farthing, St. Patrick as before, stretching his hand over reptiles; behind him a cathedral; legend, QVIESCAT PLEBS. Other Halfpence, Farthings and Half-farthings have on obverse two sceptres in saltire, behind, a crown, or C. R. crowned. Reverse: Some, the royal rose crowned; others, the Irish harp crowned; and others, again, the Scotch thistle; others, a small pellet of brass inserted in the centre of the rose. Legend. Obverse: CAR. CARO. or CAROLVS.—D. G. MAG. BRIT. Reverse: On some, the Scotch motto, NEMO., etc.; others, continuation of titles.
Obsidional or Siege Pieces. These rude coins, if coins they can be called, were struck by the king, and those favourable to his cause, to supply that monarch with the necessary funds for carrying on his wars. They are extremely interesting, as showing the various inconveniences and shifts the king was subject to. The nobility and gentry, his partisans, were applied to for the use of all their plate, as were also wardens and fellows of the different colleges in the universities of Oxford, etc., the mayors and corporations, of cities and towns, etc. The plate thus collected was chopped up, for the greatest part, in unmeaning shapes, and struck or engraved with different devices, and the value. The Scarborough Half-crown is a piece of thin plate doubled, the corners turned over to hold together. On one side is engraven in a very rude manner the castle, with the value in numerals; and on the other, OBS. SCARBOROUGH, 1645. The Newark Shilling, which is one of the commonest, is lozenge shaped. Obverse, crown between C. R.; beneath, XII. Reverse, OBS. NEWARK, 1646. Pontefract, sometimes an octagonal, and sometimes a round piece. Obverse, C. R. under a crown; DVM SPIRO SPERO. Reverse, Pontefract Castle, with name or letters. Other places where these were struck were Colchester, Carlisle, Dublin, Cork, etc. At Colchester a gold siege piece of the value of 10s. was struck. A history of the coinage in this reign alone would fill a folio volume.