Coin hoard including rare half crown
Various
- Art Funded
- 2013
- Dimensions
- Various
- Vendor
- Queen's & Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer
Inverness was a centre of conflict during the civil war in Scotland, as the Beauly Firth area became a focus of the struggles between the Royalist forces and the Covenanting army.
Hartlebury Castle served as a royalist garrison during the civil war, and doubled as an emergency mint when the royalist forces needed expedient coinage. Half crowns from the Hartlebury mint are extremely rare: the half crown discovered in the hoard is the first known from Scotland, and only the third or fourth from Britain. The half crown bears the image of Charles I on horseback, most likely based on Anthony Van DyckÂ’s triumphant equestrian portrait of the king, a powerful image of monarchy.
Provenance
Found by metal detectorists in Muir of Ord, near Inverness and declared Treasure Trove in 2012