Charles I AD 1625-1649 Silver Crown The Civil War Exeter

Charles I AD 1625-1649 Silver Crown

The Civil War. Provincial series. AD1645

King on horseback. King’s sash flies out in 2 ends/Round garnished shield

mm. Castle. Exeter mint

S3062, 41mm, 28.57g

A boldly struck example, more so than most of this type.

Charles I AD 1625-1649

Born the second son of James I Charles became heir upon the death of his elder brother Henry in AD 1612. After an unsuccessful attempt to marry him to the Infanta of Spain Charles married the Catholic Henrietta Maria of France in AD 1625. Charles strongly believed in the divine right of kings and upon his accension to the throne in AD 1625 it was not long before he quarrelled with Parliament which tried to curb his powers. This caused increasing unrest at his attempts to raise taxes without Parliamentary consent. There was uneasiness with his religious policies in part due to his marriage to a Catholic queen. He also quarrelled with the Scottish bishops and eventually both the Scottish and English Parliaments rebelled starting the Civil War.
Having been defeated by armies raised by both Parliaments Charles eventually fled from Oxford to the north where he was captured by the Scots who handed him over to the Long Parliament in London. Refusing to accept a Constitutional monarchy Charles escaped to the Isle of Wight. Charles attempted to reassert his control but was defeated by the Parliamentarians under Cromwell who had him brought back to London and tried. This time Charles was sentenced to death and was executed in Whitehall in January AD 1649. This instigated the Commonwealth when the country was ruled as a Republic until Charles II was restored as king in AD 1660.
The reign of Charles I is one of the most interesting numismatically. Not only were many provincial mints set up, particularly during the Civil War period, some outstanding machine- made coins were produced both in England and Scotland under Nicholas Briot.

THE CIVIL WAR

The Civil War erupted in AD 1642 when Parliament rebelled and Charles fled London to establish himself initially in Shrewsbury where he raised an army in the Welsh marches. After an inconclusive battle at Edgehill Charles proved incapable of re-entering London and instead established himself at Oxford. In AD 1643 the Royalist forces under the command of Prince Rupert were reasonably successful in the south west however with the establishment of the New Model Army under the command of Fairfax and Cromwell the Royalists were defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in AD 1644 and then more seriously at the Battle of Naseby the following year. Returning to Oxford Charles was force to flee in disguise when the city came under siege. Travelling north to Newark and the Scottish Covenanters Charles was to be handed over to the Parliamentarians when they were victorious.

Initially held in Northamptonshire Charles tried to reach an agreement with the Parliamentarians but when he refused to accept a constitutional monarchy he was brought back to Hampton Court. Charles then managed to escape but instead of fleeing to Jersey ended up on the Isle of Wight where he was kept in Carisbrooke Castle. Attempting to negotiate Charles reached an agreement with Scots when he promised to restore Presbyterianism in Scotland. Fleeing north he joined up with the Scots but again was badly defeated and the Battle of Preston in AD 1648. Charles was brought back to London where he was tried for high treason. Found guilty he was later executed in January AD1649.

The start of the Civil War saw a proliferation of provincial mints as Charles attempted to raise funds to pay his forces. Much of the silver in the areas under Royalist control was to be melted down and reissued as coinage. There were also a number of emergency issues of what became known as Siege Pieces. These were issued in Newark, Scarborough and Carlisle during the 1st Civil War and later in Pontefract during the 2^nd Civil War.