Great Britain: Oliver Cromwell gold Proof Pattern Broad of 20 Shillings 1656 PR62 PCGS,...

Description

Alluring Gold Broad of Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell gold Proof Pattern Broad of 20 Shillings 1656 PR62 PCGS, KM-Pn25, S-3225, W&R-39 (R2), EGC-75. 9.04gm. Reeded edge. By Thomas Simon. Few issues in British numismatics can claim to reach the level of historical interest and importance as those from the Commonwealth period, the brief period of monarchical abolition headed by Lord Protectorate Oliver Cromwell. While the issues featuring no portrait are incredibly collectible, those with Cromwell's regal bust are on an entirely different level, especially in gold. Nearly Choice in preservation and appearance, the devices remain entirely present, while wisps and marks in the fields preclude a finer conditional assignment. Deep honey tone decorates the peripheries and fully frames both obverse and reverse motifs, lending to an already advance visual character that will carry this piece to a discerning collector.

After the English Civil War terminated in 1649 with the execution of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the anti-monarchist Parliamentarians, became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England. Seven years later, through the combination Thomas Simon's masterful engraving and the engineering know-how of Pierre Blondeau, the Cromwell portrait series was created. A step towards hypocritically representing Cromwell as King, this milled coinage featured the Lord Protector wearing a laureate wreath and the reverse shield featuring a crown, its overall quality a significant improvement over previous issues. Produced entirely in Blondeau's own private Drury House (as the Tower Mint moneyers loathed Blondeau and refused to let him work alongside them), the coinage was designed as a statement of Cromwell's power and to serve as an example of the dramatic improvements in coin production under the Commonwealth.

Metal: Gold
Diameter: 29mm

More information about Great Britain Coins. See also: Great Britain World Coin Nationality.

View Certification Details from PCGS