I. The Heraldry of the Coinage, in addition to the Shields of Arms of successive Sovereigns, exemplifies the changes that have taken place in the form and adornment of the Crown, and it also is rich in various Badges and Devices having an historical significance.
In Coins the Royal Shield is sometimes quartered by a cross charged upon it, as in the silver penny of Edward VI. A mediæval ship, having a sail covered with heraldic blazonry, appears on the Noble—a coin worthy of its name. A figure of the King in armour (not particularly well proportioned to the size of the vessel), his sword in one hand, and his Shield of arms in the other, is also represented in these fine examples of mediæval numismatic art. A ship without any sail, but in its stead charged with the Royal Shield heightened by a Cross, forms the reverse of another excellent coin, the Angel, the obverse bearing a figure of St. Michael with his lance thrusting down the dragon. The Angel of Edward IV. on either side of the Cross has the initial E and the white rose of York; and the legend is—PER : CRVCEM : TVA : SALVA : NOS : XTE : REDEMPT : (“By thy Cross save us, O Redeemer Christ!”). A Crowned Rose, with a Royal Cypher, is another favourite device; as in the Shilling of Henry VIII., with the legend—POSVI : DEV : ADIVTOREM : MEVM : (“I have placed God (before me as) my helper”).
Such are a few examples of the early Heraldry of English Coins. More recently, and particularly in our own Coinage, Heraldry and Art have declined together, so that feeble designs, but too commonly executed with lamentable consistency, are associated with heraldic inaccuracies which continue uncorrected to this day—witness the tressure of Scotland often incorrectly blazoned on the Royal Shield; and poor Britannia, in her old position, sitting forlorn on the copper and bronze coinage, as if conscious of being constrained to display on her oval Shield an obsolete blazonry, that placed the reign of Queen Victoria in the eighteenth century![12]
II. To what has been already said on the value of heraldic Seals I desire here to add a few words, in the hope of inducing all students of Heraldry to study them with the most diligent care.
Casts of fine impressions are not difficult to obtain. Almost every accessible fine Seal has been copied by Mr. Ready, of the British Museum, who supplies admirable casts at a very moderate cost. The Scottish Seals of the late Mr. H. Laing, of Edinburgh, were purchased on his decease by the authorities of the British Museum. The most satisfactory casts are made in gutta-percha, which may be gilt by simply rubbing a gold powder with a soft brush upon them, after slightly warming their surfaces. Moulds for reproducing casts or impressions may be made in gutta-percha; and from these moulds casts, also in gutta-percha, may be obtained. The process is very simple: the gutta-percha, softened by immersion in hot water, is pressed upon an impression in relief, until a perfect intaglio is formed. When this mould is cold and hard, it will stamp an impression upon gutta-percha softened in the same manner.
No. 442.— Seal of Lord Bardolf.
I add to the examples of fine heraldic Seals that I have already given, the richly traceried Seal bearing the armorial Shield of John, Lord Bardolf, of Wormegay in Norfolk, about A.D. 1350; No. 442. This most beautiful Seal, which in the original in diameter is only one and one-sixth inches, has been somewhat enlarged in the engraving, in order to show the design more plainly. The arms of Bardolf are—Az., three cinquefoils or.
| No. 443.— Seal of William Mure. | No. 444.— Seal of Thomas Monypeny. |