Oxford became Charles I's military capital after he raised his standard at Nottingham in August 1642, and the mint established there operated on looted plate and college silver — Oxford's colleges famously surrendered much of their plate to the Royalist cause. The Unite was the principal gold denomination of the English monetary system, and Oxford struck it continuously from 1642 until the city fell to Parliamentary forces in June 1646.
Spink 2734 is among the more frequently encountered Oxford gold types, yet survivors in any condition are genuinely scarce by mainstream standards. The dies were cut under difficult wartime conditions, which accounts for the irregular planchet shapes that give this issue its characteristic diameter range.
Oxford became Charles I's military capital after he raised his standard at Nottingham in August 1642, and the mint established there operated on looted plate and college silver — Oxford's colleges famously surrendered much of their plate to the Royalist cause. The Unite was the principal gold denomination of the English monetary system, and Oxford struck it continuously from 1642 until the city fell to Parliamentary forces in June 1646.
Spink 2734 is among the more frequently encountered Oxford gold types, yet survivors in any condition are genuinely scarce by mainstream standards. The dies were cut under difficult wartime conditions, which accounts for the irregular planchet shapes that give this issue its characteristic diameter range.