Newark was besieged three times during the English Civil War, with the final Royalist holdout lasting from 1645 until May 1646, when Charles I himself ordered the garrison to surrender after his capture. Cut from silver plate, candlesticks, and whatever metal the town could furnish, these pieces were struck under Governor Richard Willis as a functional necessity — paying troops when no Mint supply could reach the town.
The lozenge shape is a direct consequence of production method, not design choice: irregular planchets were simply cut to approximate weight rather than rolled and punched to specification.
Newark was besieged three times during the English Civil War, with the final Royalist holdout lasting from 1645 until May 1646, when Charles I himself ordered the garrison to surrender after his capture. Cut from silver plate, candlesticks, and whatever metal the town could furnish, these pieces were struck under Governor Richard Willis as a functional necessity — paying troops when no Mint supply could reach the town.
The lozenge shape is a direct consequence of production method, not design choice: irregular planchets were simply cut to approximate weight rather than rolled and punched to specification.