England Pattern Broad — Oliver Cromwell, Silver (1656)

About this coin

Obverse

The laureate head of Cromwell faces left without the draped shoulders of the silver portrait coinage.

Script: Latin

Lettering

OLIVAR D G R P ANG SCO ET HIB &c PRO

Translation

Oliver, by the grace of God, Protector of England, Scotland, Ireland and the other territories.

Reverse

A crown surmounts the Protectorate’s quartered shield, with the date above. The shield combines the English crosses, Scottish saltire and Irish harp, with Cromwell’s lion on a central shield.

Script: Latin

Lettering

PAX QVÆRITVR BELLO 1656

Translation

Peace is sought through war.

Mints and mintmarks

London: portrait coinage made with Blondeau’s machinery from Simon’s dies.

Engraver and mintmaster marks

No separate privy mark.

Identification and varieties

Original Protectorate dies must be distinguished from later imitation dies and restrikes. The precise extent of official circulation remains debated. Do not identify a coin solely by its inscribed date.

Measurements

Specimen measurements vary; they are not a guarantee of a fixed weight for experimental pieces.