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The Royalist army captured the city of Exeter on 4th September 1643 under the command of Prince Maurice, younger brother to Prince Rupert of the Rhine and nephew of King Charles I. Sir Richard Vyvyan who had operated the Truro mint from the end of 1642 was quickly ordered to move his minting machinery to Exeter and by the end of September plate was being received at this newly established mint. The Exeter mint was active from this time to about two and a half years later, when the city surrendered to the Parliamentarians in April 1646.
There is still a record of those who gave up their plate for the Royalist cause and the very first on the list was the mayor of Exeter, Christopher Clarke, who brought in 882 ounces.
During this time, denominations ranging from the half pound to the penny were struck in silver and in the period from October 1643 to April 1644 alone it has been estimated that nearly £4000 worth of silver plate was turned into coin.
It was at the end of this period of the Exeter mint being in Royalist hands that this superb shilling - which is heading to auction at Baldwin’s Auctions on Thursday 7 March - was struck in 1644 (lot 201). It bears a magnificent portrait of Charles with the denomination behind in Roman numerals (XII for 12 pence), and the Royal Arms on the reverse, in an ‘ogee’ shield. The striking aspect of this coin is its good preservation and strong strike. These coins were struck by hand (at the end of the day the minters would have been getting tired and a little weak in their striking!). This coin is well struck, showing all the detail to the features of the portrait and is now beautifully patinated with nearly four hundred years’ ageing.
This extraordinary coin is also blue-blooded, and we can trace it back through three collections over one hundred years to the 1920s when it was in the Bruun collection and auctioned by Sotheby’s in May 1924. Baldwin’s estimate it to sell for between £4,000 and £6,000.
