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 Dyck’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