Petition Crown

Petition Crown

The Petition Crown is a coin created in 1663 by Thomas Simon, an engraver. It was submitted directly to Charles II, King of England as Simon’s personal “Petition” that only his coin should be considered as the new format for all future British coinage. The portrait of the King, Charles II, shows the candlelight shadows of even the King's veins on his neck.

Charles II, recently back to England in 1661 after living abroad, had commissioned a trial from the then official engravers to the Royal Mint, for this prestigious project. Horrified that he might miss the opportunity of a lifetime, Simon’s audacious and creative plan was to submit his far-superior, silver prototype all with his personal name beneath the Kings head and Petition brilliantly engraved with 200 letters in two lines around the coin’s rim which is only 35 mm in depth reading:

:‘THOMAS SIMON MOST HVMBLY PRAYS YOVR MAJESTY TO COMPARE THIS HIS TRYALL PIECE WITH THE DVTCH AND IF MORE TRVLY DRAWN & EMBOSS'D MORE GRACE; FVLLY ORDER'D AND MORE ACCURATELY ENGRAVEN TO RELIEVE HIM.'

The marking of the edges of coins as a guard against clipping was only now being adopted in England. Although the coin came too late for King Charles to alter his plans, due to Simon being in France, Simon produced this extraordinary specimen which today is in the Geoffrey Cope Collection and is considered to be the finest, indeed the "King of Coins", of three remaining coins known to be in private hands. The wereabouts of the third coin today unknown.

Simons coin shows the bust of King Charles draped in his flowing hair and laurel leaves, with his celebrated lovelock over his right shoulder. The inscription reads CARLOS II. DEI. GRA and on the reverse are crowned shields of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, arranged in the form of a cross, with garter and a picture of St. George in the center. There are two C's interlinked in each angle. The reverse of the coin is slightly convex and the portrait to show the King as a stronger feature of the coin.

Once sold for £12 in 1775 this coin’s rarity has seen its estimated value climb into the regions of new records when the present owner declining in excess of $3,500,000 pounds in 2005.

On 27 September, 2007 a Charles II 'Petition' Crown of 1663 sold at auction with SPINK for 207,100 GBP.

Diameter: 40 mm, Weight: 33.1 g

External links

* [http://www.petitioncrown.com The Art of Coins website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crown (British coin) — This article is about the British coin. For other coins called Crown , see Crown. Henry VIII HENRIC VIII RVTILANS ROSA SINE SPIA , crowned double rose flanked by crowned H and K (Henry and Katherine of Aragon); saltire stops …   Wikipedia

  • Crown Proceedings Act 1947 — United Kingdom Parliament Long title An Act to amend the law relating to the civil liabilities and rights of the Crown and to civil proceedings by and against the Crown, to amend the law relating to the civil liabilities of persons other than …   Wikipedia

  • Petition — Pe*ti tion, n. [F. p[ e]tition, L. petitio, fr. petere, petitum, to beg, ask, seek; perh. akin to E. feather, or find.] 1. A prayer; a supplication; an imploration; an entreaty; especially, a request of a solemn or formal kind; a prayer to the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Petition of right — Petition Pe*ti tion, n. [F. p[ e]tition, L. petitio, fr. petere, petitum, to beg, ask, seek; perh. akin to E. feather, or find.] 1. A prayer; a supplication; an imploration; an entreaty; especially, a request of a solemn or formal kind; a prayer… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • petition of right — originally, the means of proceeding against the Crown in a civil action (e.g. breach of contract). The petition of right procedure was rendered obsolete by the passing of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart.… …   Law dictionary

  • Crown proceedings — actions by and against the Crown. Prior to the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 (now amended by the Crown Proceedings Act 1987), special procedures had to be used against the Crown. They were difficult for the claimant. Contractual actions had to… …   Law dictionary

  • Petition of right — This article is about the pre 1948 contractual remedy against the Crown. For the 1628 Act of Parliament that forms part of the constitutional prelude to the English Civil War, see Petition of Right. In English law, a petition of right was a… …   Wikipedia

  • petition — petitionable, adj. petitioner, petitionist, n. /peuh tish euhn/, n. 1. a formally drawn request, often bearing the names of a number of those making the request, that is addressed to a person or group of persons in authority or power, soliciting… …   Universalium

  • petition — A written address, embodying an application or prayer from the person or persons preferring it, to the power, body, or person to whom it is presented, for the exercise of his or their authority in the redress of some wrong, or the grant of some… …   Black's law dictionary

  • petition of right — Etymology: Middle English : a legal petition formerly used to obtain redress (as possession or restitution of property) from the British Crown for breach of contract or to remedy manifest injustice * * * Petition of Right noun A parliamentary… …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”