6 Pence - Charles I Oxford mint

Oxford became a Royal Mint in 1642 after Charles I established his wartime capital there following his flight from London. The silver feeding these issues came largely from college plate — the University and its colleges melted down their own holdings to fund the Royalist war effort, a sacrifice that left virtually no contemporary Oxford silverware intact. The dies cut at Oxford are noticeably cruder than Tower Mint work, a direct consequence of operating under siege conditions with whatever craftsmen could be found.

Spink 2981 is among the more frequently encountered Oxford sixpences, but attrition from the conflict and subsequent decades of circulation keeps genuinely sharp examples rare.