THE CONFEDERATE CATHOLIC REBEL CROWN

Auction 37 closes this coming Wednesday, February 21st. Make sure to place your bids in time! Allan wrote this article on one particularly noteworthy lot in the sale.

Plain, crude, uneven strike, rugged—why its appeal? What is its story? Of the five siege crowns issued in Ireland during the English Civil War, this piece is remarkable because of its religious connection. The 2006 sale of Lucien LaRiviere’s comprehensive Irish collection had examples of all five Irish siege crowns. I was able to buy four, all except this one type that sold for many times estimate. I was simply outbid.

These coins are very rare, and rarely offered. So, when I had the chance to buy this one, I was keen, and successful.

It is easy to focus on the Civil War in England and not think as much about its impact on Ireland. In Ireland, a chief tension was between Irish Catholics on one side and English and Scottish Protestants on the other. Who would rule Ireland? The enmity between Protestants and Catholics burst open during the reign of Mary Tudor. It was in full bloom during the tempestuous reign of Charles I during the Civil War’s sturm und drang chaos and Catholic forces rose up.

Their crown with its elegantly simple cross design was issued for their use in the Civil War—wars always cost money. Their forces were ultimately defeated by Cromwell but we still have this rare remnant of their history.

For me, an unextinguishable joy of making numismatics my profession has been handling coins with exceptional appeal -- magnificent history and often an amazing work of art from another era.

I may “own” it for a brief time but while I can handle many wonderful coins I cannot afford to keep them for more than a relatively short period of time. But then, all of us who love coins know well that our ownership is a brief interlude in their journey through time.

I have a personal list of my hundred favorite British coins. This is on it.

Allan Davisson
February 2018

To browse Davissons' Auction 37, see:
https://davcoin.com/sale/Printed%20Auction%2037

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