Ancient, British and World Coins, Tokens, and Historical Medals

The great seal of england, 1651, a resin copy of the Seal, by T. Simon, map of England, Wales and Ireland with place names marked, arms of the England above and Ireland below, THE GREAT SEALE OF ENGLAND around, reverse the Long Parliament in session, IN THE THIRD YEARE OF FREEDOME BY GODS BLESSING RESTORED around, edge stamped BM, 136mm, 12mm thick (Vertue, pls.vi, vii; Wyon, The Great Seals of England, p.91; Nathanson, pp.20-1). Very fine, with cord for suspension; an excellent decorative piece (£20-30)

Early in 1649 Thomas Simon was granted a commission to engrave the Great Seal of the Commonwealth, but because Parliament were in a great hurry to have the Seal Simon was given less than a month to complete it (Allen, BNJ 1940, p.440; Nathanson p.19). This first hasty effort was replaced in 1651 with another Seal of the same design, but executed with much greater care. The 1651 Seal is a magnificently crafted work, full of fine detail; the best known illustration of it was first published by Vertue in 1753 from a wax impression, then in the collection of Margaret Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Portland; her collections of coins, medals and gems were dispersed post mortem in two auctions in 1786. The Simon archive included a pen and brown ink design for the 1649 Seal (Christie’s 14 July 1987, lot 17), but no sketch of the completed design for the 1651 Seal is believed extant