Oliver Cromwell
"The Commonwealth" (1649 - 60)
You may find this comprehensive information website
useful: http://www.SunandAnchor.com
Oliver Cromwell (Milled) Read about
Oliver Cromwell
WCom-5932: 1642 English Civil War
Silver Medal. A military reward from
the 3rd Earl of Essex, Robert Devereaux (Oliver Cromwell’s
Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary army) to an actual
soldier in the Cromwellian army. Silver,
cast & chased, 30x22mm. Listed in
Medallic Illustration (M.I.298/117, pt. 1) as Rare. See here. The Civil War was a particularly unpleasant
period in British history. Tensions were
extremely high between not just the Charles 1st and the Cromwell combatants,
but in fact every citizen of the land.
Loyalty to either the Parliamentarians or the Royalists ran deep,
suspicion was everywhere and normal, everyday people were actually scared (with
good reason) to show loyalty in case the other person was in the opposite
camp. This medal is a tangible link with
the Civil War, being not just a generic propaganda or supporters’ medal, but an
actual medal given by the 3rd Earl of Essex, Robert Devereaux, with
Cromwell’s blessing, to a real soldier who fought in the campaign. £995
WCom-5686: 1658 Oliver Cromwell
Milled Silver Halfcrown. Rare Dutch
copy, late 1600’s to very early 1700’s, cast from the Simon dies. The coin is unusual in two aspects: Firstly, the amount of wear indicates the
coin was passed into circulation. These
Dutch copies were intended to supply collectors with Cromwell coins rather than
be used as currency. Very few coins were
available at this time due to the unpopularity of Cromwell after the
Restoration. It is recorded that of the
small number of coins that were not recalled by the mint, many were
deliberately defaced. Interestingly, I
have never seen such a defaced Cromwell coin, in the same way that I have never
seen a contemporary counterfeit Henry 1st penny (BMC 6-14), although
the mint at the time obviously thought it was a problem because they officially
cut every coin leaving the mint to show the public the coin was silver. Being cast after the Protectorate, the
Cromwell halfcrown would not have circulated in the UK so presumably passed
into European circulation, being just a lump of silver in that market
place. Secondly, and more interestingly,
this coin is 11.98 grams. It is also a
smaller flan by a mm or so. As a cast
silver coin, it is difficult to understand how you could create a smaller,
lighter coin from the original. The
nature of casting dictates like for like.
Double shillings or Florins were issued in this later Dutch / Tanner
period. Although they are recorded as
being double thickness shillings, it is extremely interesting to note that the
weight of these florins was 12g, exactly the same weight as this coin. Further research required on this intriguing
coin. £995
Commonwealth
(Hammered)
Half Crowns
WCom-5815: 1653 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Halfcrown. Clear date, full
flan and unusual in that the reverse is clearly 1653 (it is in fact one of the
last dies used in 1653) but the obverse is actually a 1652 die. £535
Shillings
WCom-6439: 1651 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. A straight 51
obverse and reverse but no stop before THE making this the rare E.S.C 984. 
£725
WCom-6440: 1652 over 1 Commonwealth
Hammered Silver Shilling. A 1651
obverse with a 1651 altered date (51 to 52) reverse. Also no stop after GOD making this an
unlisted and unrecorded variety (see www.sunandanchor.com). £785
WCom-6199: 1653 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. Clear date, decent
grade and unusually, a straight ’53 obverse with a ’53 reverse and no
overdate. £495
WCom-6362: 1653 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. Clear date, decent
grade. Unusual double striking and the O
in COMMONWEALTH looks altogether too small.
£395
WCom-6403: 1653 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. Oliver Cromwell’s
Commonwealth, initial mark Sun, 5.42g.
The obverse reads: COMMONWEATH [L missing] and there is no stop after
THE. The ticket states this is the
recorded COMMONWEALH [T missing] variety which is E.S.C.989 (I’m told E.S.C.
130 in the revised edition?), rated at R4 rarity which means 11-20 known
examples. This coin is actually an
E.S.C. unrecorded “missing L” variety.
If you look at the definitive guide to Commonwealth coinage (http://www.SunandAnchor.com), you will see both varieties listed and
both having six star rarity values. The
COMMONWEATH die (this coin) also has the missing stop after THE whereas the
missing T variety doesn’t. A great rarity
in the Commonwealth series being unrecorded in E.S.C. (Spink don’t bother
listing any variations), full of flan and nice grade. £895
WCom-6423: 1656 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Shilling. Clear date, decent
grade and the rarer variety with no stops at the initial mark (sun). E.S.C 995b where it’s listed as Rare. £395
Sixpencess
WCom-6328: 1651 Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Sixpence – Rarer Variety.
Full of flan with a very clear date.
No stops at the initial mark (sun) – see SunandAnchor.com. Spink 3219 var. £445
WCom-5912: 1654 over 3 Commonwealth
Hammered Silver Sixpence. Relatively
full of flan – minimal clipping with an unusually clear date. This is the rarer 4 over 3 variety which
E.S.C. rates at R2. The coin has slight
creasing probably due to the practise of biting the coin to see if it was genuine
silver in the 1650’s. Some toning. £495
Half Groats
WCom-5654: Commonwealth Hammered
Silver Half Groat. Virtually a full
flan coin with strong detail front & back.
Increasingly rare in this grade.
£109
Pennies
WCom-5609: Commonwealth Hammered Silver Penny. 1649-60. Rarer denomination compared to the Half Groats. Very nice grade. £89
WCom-5817: Commonwealth Hammered Silver Penny. 1649-60. Rarer denomination compared to the Half Groats. Very nice grade. £89
Other
WCom-5377: 1658 Oliver Cromwell
Silver Death Medal. Reverse depicts
Cromwell’s tomb whilst the obverse has Cromwell facing left. A medal by Dassier struck in 1731. A better grade medal. £225
