Mhcoins
1648 Charles I Pontefract Besieged Shilling
£4,250
Charles I (1625-49) Pontefract (1648-1649) Shilling, In the name of Charles I. Type I. Dated 1648. DVM : SPIRO : SPERO, crowned C · R. rev, Castle gateway with flag; OBS to left, P C above, hand holding sword to right, 1648 below.
(S.3148; N.2646; Hird 270–1 (same dies); Brooker 1229–30 (same dies)) weight 5.28 grams
Once used and worn as a Royalist supporters badge as many siege pieces were otherwise a very neat looking Good Very Fine and toned.
PONTEFRACT BESIEGED
It was during the Second English Civil War (1648-1649), when coins were issued. Under Parliamentarian control since its surrender, Pontefract was seized in early June 1648 by Colonel John Morrice, who declared it for Charles I. Over that early summer, the city became the base for a number of Royalist raids in the surrounding countryside. In retaliation, Parliamentarian forces were brought to bear to take Pontefract, and by August, with Oliver Cromwell himself in command, heavy artillery was brought up to reduce its defenses. The long siege continued and, by October, Pontefract remained one of the only two castles (the other being Scarborough) that still held out for the king.
Even after the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1648/9, Pontefract still would not surrender. Now, Colonel Morrice declared for Charles II and the city's motto – Post mortem patris pro filio – a motto which also appears on this siege issue, refers to that support. On 24 March 1649, almost two months after Charles was beheaded and after a siege of almost nine months, Colonel Morrice and his garrison finally capitulated. To ensure that the castle would not serve as a base for any future rebellion and, on the pleadings of the local populace weary of war, Parliament had the remains of the castle demolished later that same year.