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Lot 311
Great Britain. Unite of 20 Shillings, 1650. S-3208; Fr-269; SC-5. 9.04 grams. Commonwealth of England, 1649-1660. Shield of Saint George within wreath. Reverse: Shields of Saint George and Ireland; above, XX, value in Roman numerals. Sun mintmark. Well struck on a full, slightly oblong flan. Softly lustrous and beautiful. Certainly among the finest known and a rare, early date. NGC graded AU-58.
Oliver Cromwell was one of those rare individuals in English history who, because of his abilities and placement, and a fortunate timing of events, had the opportunity to effect a political (and eventually a social) change to the country, of a magnitude that hadn't been seen in centuries. Unfortunately, under his stewardship fruition of those opportunities was never fully realized and Britain's chance to move away from a monarchial government towards a republic became for the most part a non-event.
The failure of the governors of the Commonwealth and of Oliver Cromwell as its strongest political representative (and certainly of his son Richard) lay in their collective inability to properly handle the numerous opposing forces they were all caught between. Various social pressures were already leading to a splintering and fractiousness of English society by the time of the reign of Charles I, which the years of later civil war would only exacerbate. Cromwell's attempts to placate such groups as the army, the nobility and Parliament, not to mention his own Puritans, resulted only in the alienation of each of these constituencies. Likewise, Parliament showed no foresight in leaving the political machinery of the parishes and shires basically untouched under the new constitution. Thus these important entities were left to continue in their centuries-old tradition of obeisance and fealty to a king. In the end, Parliament, Cromwell and the army failed to a make a clear distinction and separation between their changed constitution and the preceding ancient constitution, with its customs of loyalty and obedience to a monarchy which had been evolving since Anglo-Saxon times.
Eventually, Cromwell's governance degenerated into a military dictatorship, and then into a monarchy in all but name. Cromwell's title went from Lord General of the Army to Lord Protector of the Realm (the title of king was proffered, but wisely rejected by him). Cromwell died on September 3, 1658 (of kidney-stone poisoning), naming his feckless son Richard as successor. Without Oliver's strong personality, the Commonwealth soon floundered and within two years of the Lord Protector's demise the monarchy was regained under Charles II, son of the executed Charles I. When the young king returned from exile in the French court, he landed at Dover and kissed his native soil as his very first act of "restoration."
Estimated Value $7,500 - 8,500.
Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection (by private treaty to the Millennia Collection).
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