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1 Crown - Charles II 1st bust
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1663 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Four crowned cruciform shields bearing the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland arranged in a cross pattern, with the central Garter star at their intersection; interlinked CC monograms appear in each angle between the shields. The date 1663 is divided and placed above the uppermost shield. A beaded inner border frames the design, with the royal legend running along the outer periphery in Roman lettering. |
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| Reverse lettering | MAG· BR·FRA ET·HIB· REX·16 63· (Translation: King of Great Britain France and Ireland) |
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| Additional information |
The 1663 crown inaugurated Charles II's milled coinage in earnest, produced on machinery descended from the equipment Pierre Blondeau had fought bitterly to introduce against fierce opposition from the Moneyers' Company throughout the 1650s. Blondeau's edge-lettering process — DECVS ET TVTAMEN — was as much an anti-counterfeiting measure as a political statement, and Charles's government was explicit that the new coinage represented a deliberate break from the hammered tradition that had plagued England with clipped and debased coin for generations.
The first bust variety was replaced relatively quickly, making it the shortest-produced of the Charles II crown obverse types.