KN{)\VLi:i)r,i:. 



May. 1Q12. 



I'ranks ami 11. A. < iriicixT. ami iniiitcil i)y ordir of 

 tlic Tnistt-es of till- Uritisli Museum. It is. for 

 olnious reason.-;, indisiu'iisalilo lo every roiicetor of 



coniu)eniorative medals. 

 Miracle," whicli Mr. 

 Stanlev Paul is to 

 publish on May 29tli. 

 I hope to f,'ivc some 

 account of the curious 

 medals anil badges 

 worn by the adherents 

 of Charles II between 

 lt)49 and the Restora- 

 tion, many of which 

 after the fateful yeai 

 1651 bore the symbol 

 of tiic royal oak. On 

 January 1st of that year 

 the young King (not 

 vet twenty -one) wa> 

 crowned at Scone. The 

 gold medal struck on 

 that occasion, which 

 is not illustrated here, 

 is one of the rarest 

 of the English coro- 

 nation series. Mr. Haw- 

 kins thus describes it : 

 '•Bust of Charles II, 

 r. crowned, hair long, 

 in plain falling collar, 

 ermine robes and collar 

 of the Garter. Legend : 

 " Carolus 2 . D . G . 



Sco . Ang . Fra & 



Hib. . Kex . Fi . De . 



Cor . i . ia . Scon 



1651." Rev. Lion ram- 

 pant, /., holding a thistle 



in his paw. Legend : 



" Nemo . me . impune 



. lacessit." In the 



British Museum thert' 



is a leaden medal, bi - 



lieved to be unitpie. 



which commemorates 



the escape of Charles II 



from Worcester tSe()- 



tember .5rd, 1651), and 



his six weeks' wander- 

 ings between that date 



and his escape from 



Shoreham to Fecamp 



on October 1 5th of that 



year. On the obverse 



is a view of the walls 



and fortifications of Worcester 



book. " The Koval 



FiGURK 209. 



The great Gold 

 the restoration 



til defenders : 

 outside, Charles on horseback attended by the four 

 Penderels and Yates, and before him a company of 

 soldiers, above, " Woster." Legend : " God - bles - 

 my - Lord - Wihnot - Lady - Lane - Col - Carter - 

 Capt - Tedersal -" Reverse, sword and olive branch 



crossed between C. K. Legend : "In - utrumque 

 paratus." It is unnecessary to say that the names 

 thus displayed on it are the names of the principal 

 actors in the enterprise, and whose sterling loyalty 

 mainly contributed to 

 the escajje of the King. 

 It was onl\ two years 

 later, while Charles was 

 still in exile, that the 

 first historic medal 

 now illustrated was 

 issued by the Common- 

 wealth. It is com- 

 memorative in its 

 character, but was given 

 bv the Government as 

 a reward to Admiral 

 Blake and the other 

 principal naval officers 

 engaged in the battle 

 of Portland and the war 

 against the Dutch. It 

 was struck in two sizes. 

 The specimen illustrated 

 is of the smaller size, 

 and was granted to 

 captains. On the 

 obverse is an anchor 

 from which is sus- 

 pended three shields 

 charged w ith the crosses 

 of St. George and St. 

 .Vndrew, and the Irish 

 harp. Reverse, ships 

 in action. The larger 

 medal granted to senior 

 officers was surrounded 

 by a wide border repre- 

 senting the bow, stem, 

 mast, flags, drums, and 

 arms taken from the 

 ciK'iny : both are in 

 gold, and the work of 

 the celebrated engraver, 

 Thomas Simon. Blake's 

 own medal was pur- 

 chased bv His Majesty, 

 King William I\'. 



The fine exam pie from 

 which the reproduction 

 has been made is now 

 in possession of Messrs. 

 Spink and is priced at 

 £.500. The medal is 

 shewn conspicuously, to- 

 gether with a vignette 

 view of Portland, below' the fine mezzotint 

 portrait of Admiral Blake," by Thomas Preston, 

 after a painting belonging to Mr. J. Ames, now 

 in my possession. Below it are the words: 

 '• Vimicx- Com mcrcii.— Robert Blake, General and 

 Admiral of the Forces of England, etc., Denatus 



Medal ol 1601, comiiieinoratin.s; 

 of Charles II. 



