The monarchs of the British Isles have celebrated their coronations through the issue of medals and coins from the 16th century onwards.
In light of the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, this week, Cameron Maclean talks us through some of the objects in The Hunterian’s numismatic collection that have been made for this purpose.
Edward VI, England, coronation medal, 1547
Edward VI, England, coronation medal, 1547, Hunter Collection, GLAHM:38005
This large medal of Edward VI (r.1547-1553), measuring 64 millimetres in diameter, is the very first medal issued in England to celebrate the coronation of a monarch. An armoured Edward VI, wielding a sword and orb, is depicted at the centre of the medal. An extensive three-line inscription surrounds him. The two outermost lines list Edward VI’s titles in Latin:
‘· EDWARDUS · VI · D · G · ANG · · FR · E · HI · REX · · FIDEI · DEFNS · · E · IN · TERRIS · ANG · E · HIB · ECCLE · CAPUT SUPREMUM ·’
(‘Edward the Sixth, by the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and the Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and Ireland’).
The innermost line records the date of the coronation and Edward’s age at the time:
‘· CORONATUS · EST · M · D · XLVI · XX · FEBRUA · ETATIS · DECIMO’
(‘Crowned 20 February 1546 at the age of ten years’).
According to our current dating system, Edward’s coronation was on 20 February 1547, but the year is given as 1546 on this medal as New Year’s Day was then reckoned as 25 March rather than 1 January. This dating convention continued to be used in Scotland until 1600 and in England until 1752.
The other side of the medal repeats this inscription in Hebrew and Greek. Edward VI’s coronation medal is modelled upon the Supremacy Medal of his father, Henry VIII (r.1509-1547).
Edward VI’s coronation medal was an outlier for its time. Neither Mary I (r.1553-1558) nor Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603) issued medals to celebrate their coronations. Every coronation from 1603 onwards, both in Scotland and England, has been commemorated with an official medal.
Charles I, Scotland, coronation medal, 1633
Charles I, Scotland, coronation medal, 1633, Hunter Collection, GLAHM:38117
This gold medal of Charles I (r.1625-1649) is the first to celebrate a Scottish coronation. Charles I is depicted crowned and is surrounded by an inscription proclaiming his titles:
‘CAROLUS · D : G · SCOTIÆ · ANGLIÆ · FR · ET · HIB · R ·’
(‘Charles, by the Grace of God, King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland’).
The other side displays a plant that combines elements of the Scottish thistle and the English rose. The surrounding inscription reads:
‘· HINC · NOSTRÆ · CREVERE · ROSÆ·’
(‘Hence have our roses grown’).
This refers to the regal union between Scotland and England that was established upon James VI (r.1567-1625) of Scotland’s accession to the English throne in 1603. The date of the coronation, 18 June 1633, is recorded beneath the plant.
Charles I, Scotland, coronation medal, 1633, Hunter Collection, GLAHM:38117
Several varieties of this medal were issued in both silver and gold, but what makes this example remarkable is its edge inscription. This inscription records the medal’s engraver, place of manufacture and source of its gold. It reads:
‘EX · AURO · UT · IN · SCOTIA · REPERITUR · BRIOT FECIT · EDINBURGI · 1633’
(‘Briot executed this at Edinburgh from gold as it is found in Scotland’).
Throughout his life, Nicholas Briot (1579-1646) engraved dies for coins and medals in France, England and Scotland. His ‘B’ initial can be seen to the right of the medal’s date. Only three coronation medals with this edge inscription were struck in gold, whereas the others had a plain edge. It is recorded in an inventory of the Royal Collection that Charles I personally owned one of them and that it was ‘much worn in his… pocket’, which means that there is a one-third chance that this very medal belonged to Charles I himself!
George III, Guineas, 1760s
Move slider to the right to see George III, Great Britain, proof guinea, 1763, Coats Collection; Move slider to the left to see George III, Great Britain, guinea, 1765, Coats Collection.
Coin proof sets have been issued to celebrate the coronations of British monarchs from the reign of William IV (r.1830-1837) onwards, excepting Edward VIII (r.1936) who did not reign long enough to be crowned or issue coins in the United Kingdom. Proofs are special coins that are manufactured to a higher standard than those that are intended for general circulation.
The coining dies are usually polished before striking and the blanks are specially prepared. They display sharper details than their circulating counterparts and the fields (the blank area surrounding the design and inscription) often have a mirror-like sheen.
The differences are readily apparent when they are compared. See the above two guineas of George III (r.1760-1820), one of which is a proof and the other is a regular circulation coin.
William IV, United Kingdom, proof coins, 1831
William IV, United Kingdom, proof coins, 1831, Coats Collection, from left to right: crown, halfcrown, shilling, sixpence
The 1831 proof set of William IV was the first to celebrate the coronation of a British monarch. The full set contains 14 coins, they range in value from the gold £2 piece to the copper farthing. The above photos show the four largest silver coins from the set: the crown, halfcrown, shilling and sixpence. The set was composed of proof versions of coins that were also struck for circulation, but it also included two special coins that were not released for this purpose, these are the silver crown (above left) and the gold £2 piece.
The set also contained silver penny, twopence, threepence and fourpence coins. These were usually reserved for distribution during the Royal Maundy ceremony.
All subsequent coronation proof sets, excepting Queen Victoria’s (r.1837-1901), were issued during the coronation year. The initial issue of Victoria’s set was delayed until the year following her coronation. The three gold coins from this 1839 dated set can currently be seen on display in the main gallery of The Hunterian Museum.
If you want to find out more about The Hunterian’s numismatics collection, why not explore our online catalogue?
And there are more brilliant blogs by Cameron and others stretching right across our collection for you to enjoy – covering coins, medals and much more!
