Finally we reach 1670 and I can show the Halfcrown that started my obsession with them and moved them into overdrive.
Kingdom of England - 1670, Half crown, Charles II - Regnal year Vicesimo Secundo (22 - the years were counted from 1649, not his actual coronation in 1660).
Charles II (1630 - 1685, king 1660 - but acceded 1649)
Charles the oldest son of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria (Sister of Louis XIII of France and Auntie to Louis XIV) was a popular and merry monarch, easily the most popular of the Stuart dynasty.
He was a popular and amiable Prince of Wales who grew up fast and witnessed the Civil War 1st hand with his father. In 1648 he was forced into exile and known for hiding up a tree after a disastrous defeat in 1648 (The Royall Oak or Boscawen oak). He fled to France dressed up as a Woman. The Scottish offered to recognise him as king in Feb 1648/49 after his father's execution - but this was not universally accepted, still later coins dated his reign from this time.
After the failed battle of Worcester in 1651, he was exiled to France and Netherlands known for his time seducing women and having fun (A famous painting showing him dancing survives from this time).
Finally in April 1660 with the abdication of Richard Cromwell, General Monk called Charles back to England and in May he was acclaimed King and the Restoration began, his coronation did not take place until May 1661 however. New jewels had to be made including a crown as Cromwell and those other scumbags had sold them to traders in Amsterdam.
1661 saw the digging up and desecration of the remains of Commonwealth leaders including Cromwell's skull used as a football, otherwise many Commonwealth personalities had less recriminations and easily became part of the Restoration peerage.
The Kingdom thrived in his reign with commerce expanding along with the empire (Jamaica in 1670, American colonies of Carolina and city of New York etc). Arts and culture expanded despite the double whammy of the Plague (1665) and Great Fire of London.
Charles was known as a merry monarch who loved women, the theatre, arts, culture and his spaniel dogs. Sadly he was suspected to be a Catholic and too pro French, despite this he held up the Anglican convention and joined the Dutch in warring the French and Spanish (Despite two brief wars with the Dutch, one which got New York).
The Titus Oates plot in 1679 also cast a dark cloud, but generally his reign was one of peace and plenty. The era of theatres, big wiggs, drinking chocolate, newspapers and new and cleverly designed buildings. The rise of gifted individuals like Newton, Wren, Samuel Pepys and his diary and Hooke amongst others.
Charles died in 1685, possibly a convert to Rome and his hopeless brother took over. His marriage to Catherine of Braganza was fruitless and very unhappy and he left only illegitimate children with his mistresses and one the Duke of Monmouth made an unsuccessful play for the throne. After James the succession of the Dutch prince/stadtholder - William of Orange (Who was his nephew) was assured when he married Mary the daughter of James, Duke of York and next King.
The coins of Charles started off the same as his predecessors, hammered silver and gold, however beginning in 1662 the coinage was redesigned and fine silver and gold coins made using a screw press giving a milled coin with a security edge was produced.
The gold was based on a value called a guinea, named after Gold from West Africa and there were coins at 5,2,1 and half guineas - originally valued at 20/- it climbed to 30/- by 1694 and then was stabilised at 21/- the next year, a rate it held - although the coin was superseded by the sovereign of 20/- in 1817.
The silver was again a series ranging from 6d to 5/- as cruciform shields like the gold and 1d - 4d with joined c's. In 1672 a copper farthing and halfpenny joined the line up which reduced the need for tin farthings and private small denomination tokens.
The coinage of Charles is popular and compared to other coins of the era quite easy to collect. As shown with the coin above and others so far shown, it is incredibly beautiful too!
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Posted 01/04/2021 05:44 am
