Wakefield Museums and Castles

This is a silver half-crown coin. It was issued by Parliament during the English Civil Wars. It was found as part of the Ackworth Hoard.

A half-crown was a coin with value of 2 shillings and 6 pence, so 30 pence total. This was an eighth of a pound. Before decimalisation, a pound had 240 pence in it.

Half a crown was about three days’ pay for an ordinary foot soldier in the Civil Wars.

This specific coin was made at the Tower of London mint in 1645. We know the date because it has a mint mark. This is the symbol of the sun. It is at the 12 o’clock position in the inscriptions on both sides.

Some coins had the year they were minted written on them, but not all. Many of those that didn’t have a year had a mint mark instead. This was a small symbol that changed from year to year.

This coin was made by Parliament whilst they were at war with King Charles I. Despite this, the coin was still issued in his name. The main image on it is of the king, wearing his crown and riding a horse. The other side has Charles I’s personal coat of arms.

The inscriptions on the coin mean ‘Charles by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Ireland’ on one side. The other side says, ‘I reign with the support of Christ’.

It was hard for most English people to imagine a world without the king. Therefore, for a long time, Parliament claimed they supported the king but disagreed with his advisors.

Coins were (and still are) an important way of spreading messaging. Parliament used the imagery and inscriptions on its coins to reinforce the message that it was loyal to the king. They wanted to appear to be preserving order.