Petition Crown
Encyclopedia
The Petition Crown is a crown coin
created in 1663 by Thomas Simon
master of the Royal Mint
, an English engraver. The coin 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 King Charles II even shows the shadows of the King's veins on his neck. The coin had the famous petition in two lines around the edge; it was concave on one side and convex on the other allowing the engraver to highlight the King's head in medallic relief.
Charles II, recently returned to England in 1660 after his exile abroad, commissioned a trial from the then-official engravers to the Royal Mint for this prestigious project. Eager to take the opportunity Simon submitted his silver
prototype. It carried his name beneath the King's head, and his petition engraved in 200 letters in two lines around the coin's rim (which is only 3.5mm in depth) reading:
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's being in France, Simon produced an extraordinary specimen which today is in the Geoffrey Cope Collection. Another example is on exhibition at the American Numismatic Association
museum in Colorado Springs, USA. It is believed that twelve original issues of the Petition Crown are extant today, with nine in museums.
Simon's 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 CAROLVS 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 concave to show the King as a stronger feature of the coin.
A sale of this coin was recorded for £12 in 1775, since then this coin's rarity has seen it become one of the most valuable British coins. In 2003 a sale of the coin for £138,000 set a new record for a British silver coin at auction.
Diameter: 40mm
Weight: 33.1g
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
created in 1663 by Thomas Simon
Thomas Simon
Thomas Simon , English medalist, was born, according to Vertue, in Yorkshire about 1623.He studied engraving under Nicholas Briot, and about 1635 received a post in connection with the Royal Mint...
master of the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
, an English engraver. The coin was submitted directly to Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, 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 King Charles II even shows the shadows of the King's veins on his neck. The coin had the famous petition in two lines around the edge; it was concave on one side and convex on the other allowing the engraver to highlight the King's head in medallic relief.
Charles II, recently returned to England in 1660 after his exile abroad, commissioned a trial from the then-official engravers to the Royal Mint for this prestigious project. Eager to take the opportunity Simon submitted his silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
prototype. It carried his name beneath the King's head, and his petition engraved in 200 letters in two lines around the coin's rim (which is only 3.5mm 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
Coin clipping
Coin debasement is the act of decreasing the amount of precious metal in a coin, while continuing to circulate it at face value. This was frequently done by governments in order to inflate the amount of currency in circulation; typically, some of the precious metal was replaced by a cheaper metal...
was only now being adopted in England. Although the coin came too late for King Charles to alter his plans, due to Simon's being in France, Simon produced an extraordinary specimen which today is in the Geoffrey Cope Collection. Another example is on exhibition at the American Numismatic Association
American Numismatic Association
The American Numismatic Association was founded in 1891 by Dr. George F. Heath in Chicago, Illinois. The ANA was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical and scientific lines, as well as enhance interest in the hobby.The ANA national headquarters and museum is...
museum in Colorado Springs, USA. It is believed that twelve original issues of the Petition Crown are extant today, with nine in museums.
Simon's 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 CAROLVS II. DEI. GRA and on the reverse are crowned shields of England, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the coin is slightly convex and the portrait concave to show the King as a stronger feature of the coin.
A sale of this coin was recorded for £12 in 1775, since then this coin's rarity has seen it become one of the most valuable British coins. In 2003 a sale of the coin for £138,000 set a new record for a British silver coin at auction.
Diameter: 40mm
Weight: 33.1g