Charles I Sixpence Coin Pack

Product Description: This reproduction Charles I Sixpence is moulded directly from an original coin and is made from lead-free pewter. The wallet type packaging has a hole on the front in which the coin is held in a clear blister. The coin pack has an image of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell on the front, the two coins in the collection inside, as well as additional Charles I images. It has historical information about the coins and about Charles I.

Information: The sixpence has an inscription that refers to Charles’s belief that he was answerable only to God. The obverse of the coin has a bust of Charles I and the reverse has a shield with royal coat of arms.

Charles I was born on 19 November 1600 and became heir to the throne after the death of his older brother Henry in 1612. After the death of his father, James I, in 1625 Charles acceded to the throne. Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings. As a result he constantly quarrelled with his parliaments and ruled without one for 11 years.

There was a century old rivalry between Parliament and the monarchy. Parliament disliked Charles’s autocratic rule and this reached a head in 1642 when the King unsuccessfully attempted to arrest five Members of Parliament. Civil war broke out when Charles left London and raised his standard at Nottingham.

A series of battles between Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and the Kings Royalists (Cavaliers) began. At first, the Royalists defeated the Parliamentary armies, but Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army finally defeated Charles at Naseby in 1645.

In 1649, Charles was put on trial for treason and sentenced to death. He was executed on 30 January 1649 and the monarchy was replaced with the Commonwealth (1649-53) and then the Protectorate (1653-59), under Oliver Cromwell’s rule.