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1 Shilling - Commonwealth of England
| Issuer | Commonwealth of England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1649-1660 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 6.10 g |
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| Obverse description | Central device comprises the shield of St. George (the Cross of England) set within a laurel wreath, the whole occupying the field in a bold, unadorned heraldic style characteristic of Commonwealth coinage. No royal portrait appears, reflecting the republican rejection of monarchical imagery. A mintmark appears above the shield at the top of the wreath. The circular legend reading THE·COMMONWEALTH·OF·ENGLAND runs around the periphery in Roman capitals, separated by pellet stops. The flan is irregular and slightly rough at the edges, consistent with hammered production of the period. |
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| Reverse description | Two conjoined shields occupy the central field: the dexter shield bearing the Cross of St. George (England) and the sinister shield bearing the Irish harp, both rendered in a plain heraldic style without mantling or supporters. Above the shields, the Roman numeral XII denotes the denomination of twelve pence, flanked by pellet stops. The date appears spaced around the upper legend, and the circular inscription GOD·WITH·VS surrounds the design, separated by pellet stops. An inner beaded circle frames the central device, and the flan retains the characteristic irregular planchet shape of mid-seventeenth-century hammered silver coinage. |
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| Additional information |
The Commonwealth shilling was a direct product of the constitutional rupture of 1649 — the execution of Charles I left the new republican government needing coinage that ostentatiously rejected royal imagery. Parliament mandated a purely heraldic design stripped of any monarch's portrait, the first English silver coinage in over a century to circulate without a king's face. Die quality across the series is notoriously inconsistent; the Tower Mint was understaffed and under pressure throughout the Interregnum, and many working dies show evidence of hasty preparation.
Cromwell's own portrait coinage of 1656–58 was struck in parallel but never officially released for circulation, leaving Commonwealth-type shillings as the workhorse silver denomination until the Restoration ended the series abruptly in 1660.