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DaveG38

Commoners on Coins

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I've just been reading a bit of Davies' excellent book on silver coinage, where he comments that the 1965 Churchill Crown was issued to commemorate the death of Winston Churchill and that his portrait was only the second commoner to appear on the coinage since 1066. Lawrence Chard, on the other hand, says that Churchill was the first commoner!

So who is right? And if Davies then who was the first? I have racked my brain till it hurts and the only commoner I can see is Cromwell, although his status at the time suggest that as 'head of state' he was hardly as 'common' as the rest at that time.

Any ideas anyone?

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Cromwell indeed is the other one. And yes, he was a commoner by every definition, as he was not in line to the throne even remotely, and I believe came from 'gentleman farmer' stock?

However, you could argue that the 'rebel Roman leader' who proclaimed himself Emperor while in Britain could also be considered a commoner, and I'm not sure Harold Godwin's claim was any too secure either... I suppose it depends on just how far back you're prepared to go. Certainly, Churchill is the first in modern times.

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What about a Northumberland Shilling ?

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The Northumberland shilling has got the King on it.

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Thanks all. I'll settle for Cromwell as the second commoner. Nice to think that the old grey matter can still function even if a bit slower than in the past.

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Talking about grey matter, the more you think about this, the more complex an issue it becomes :

Cromwell is the ONLY commoner to feature on the obverse of a British coin.

Churchill may be the only commoner to feature as a named reverse type.

But then, what about those who modelled for certain designs? The young woman who posed for the Edward VII florin reverse ( the standing Britannia), the man who posed for Pistrucci's St George, the copper reverse Britannias of the 17th and 18th centuries - these are all commoners who appeared on coins (though un-named).

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But then, what about those who modelled for certain designs? The young woman who posed for the Edward VII florin reverse ( the standing Britannia), the man who posed for Pistrucci's St George, the copper reverse Britannias of the 17th and 18th centuries - these are all commoners who appeared on coins (though un-named).

Technically speaking the persons you refer to above are allegory, and representative and not meant to portray a particular person. Since Lady Diana was on the crown in 1981, several commoners, notably Isambard Kingdom Brunel etc have appeared on commemoratives.

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Talking about grey matter, the more you think about this, the more complex an issue it becomes :

Cromwell is the ONLY commoner to feature on the obverse of a British coin.

Churchill may be the only commoner to feature as a named reverse type.

Straining harder, Is the term 'Commoner' allowed in an Interregnum ?

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But then, what about those who modelled for certain designs? The young woman who posed for the Edward VII florin reverse ( the standing Britannia), the man who posed for Pistrucci's St George, the copper reverse Britannias of the 17th and 18th centuries - these are all commoners who appeared on coins (though un-named).

Technically speaking the persons you refer to above are allegory, and representative and not meant to portray a particular person. Since Lady Diana was on the crown in 1981, several commoners, notably Isambard Kingdom Brunel etc have appeared on commemoratives.

The question is, was that Roger Bannister's actual leg?

And don't forget that Una lady with her pet lion :)

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Straining harder, Is the term 'Commoner' allowed in an Interregnum ?

Very good point! But I suppose you could say EVERYONE was a commoner in the Commonwealth (pun intended).

"And don't forget that Una lady with her pet lion"

Very true - not forgetting 1001 different Britannias...

As for the allegories - yes of course, but nonetheless the "allegory" features a likeness of an actual costumed person, even if they are not named.

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Rayner has this to say about the Cromwell coinage: "Most authorities consider that these pieces were never put into circulation and must, therefore, be classed as patterns. In the writers view, however, the rare halfcrowns of 1656 appear to have been circulated as they nearly always turn up in worn condition. The coins of 1658 were probably intended for circulation but most of them were not issued owing to the death of Cromwell before they were ready."

I think in the light of Thomas Simon's subsequent behaviour in the reign of Charles II, the pattern argument is very compelling ?

Even were this not the case, I think it is hard to see Cromwell as a Commoner - he did after all refuse the Crown and was head of state at the time when there was no relevant Royalty in England.

So, having slept on it, I vote for Churchill as the ONLY commoner to appear on our official circulating coinage.

Then there are countermarked Charles IIII Dollars issued by the Bank of England, how do they feature in the debate ? OK, he isn't a commoner, but he has no interest in the British Crown, yet there he is on our circulating coinage.......

The reason I mentioned the Northumberland Shilling is that isn't there some controversy about the effigy of George III in that some say the main driver behind the issue was Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland, known to have been a collector and an authority on medals, and that the effigy bears more of a resemblance to her husband than it does to the King ?

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Even were this not the case, I think it is hard to see Cromwell as a Commoner - he did after all refuse the Crown and was head of state at the time when there was no relevant Royalty in England.

So, having slept on it, I vote for Churchill as the ONLY commoner to appear on our official circulating coinage.

I think you have to understand the word 'commoner' as quite a technical term : it doesn't mean 'of the common people', it simply means 'not of the Royal Family'. By that definition Cromwell can be nothing other than a commoner, even though he was offered the Crown (he did turn it down after all!).

I think the full importance of this distinction is highlighted in Ancient Rome where, after 200 years of very varied and often autocratic kingship, the monarchy was overthrown and an aristocratic republic installed in its place. So hated were the kings in Roman consciousness that when the republic ended after 500 years and was replaced by Imperial rule, the Emperors were very very careful to describe themselves as "Princeps" - although we get our word "Prince" from that, in fact it simply meant "First Citizen" (probably the first successful use of NewSpeak? :) ) So Cromwell was probably following this historical example and being careful to avoid tainting his position with the all-too-recent associations of the Throne, which in parts of England was loathed.

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