United Kingdom: Latest gold and silver Proof coins in exquisite “Master Engravers” series features historic Petition Crown

The Royal Mint has released a fitting two-coin set in tribute to the Petition Crown — one of Great Britain’s most valuable and historic numismatic treasures. Created by Thomas Simon (1623-1665), a celebrated English medallist and coin-designer, the coin known as the Petition Crown was designed as a direct response to the newly restored King Charles II to consider Simon’s own work for use on English coinage. Prior to the establishment of the English Commonwealth, Simon had been an apprentice at the Royal Mint from 1645. After the deposition of King Charles I in 1649, Simon was promoted to be chief engraver to the Royal Mint when he was commissioned to design and engrave the great seal of the Commonwealth as well as dies for the coinage of Oliver Cromwell — now titled as Lord and Protector. Simon had hoped his work would come to the attention of the King and that further royal consideration would ensure that only Simon’s designs would be used for all future circulation-type coinage now that machine-made minting presses had been adopted universally for the production of British coinage. The petition crown had been the direct result of the rivalry between the Roettiers brothers and Thomas Simon, which resulted from a royal competition to design this new milled or machine-struck coinage. Unfortunately, and for reasons unknown at the time, Simon did not submit his trial design in time. Despite his efforts, Thomas Simon failed to persuade the King to adopt his work. As such, the Petition Crown was produced in only a very small quantity and was never formally issued, making it extremely rare. The Flemish engravers John and Joseph Roettiers won the competition by default, and their designs were used for coinage issued for circulation in 1662. It is believed that Simon struck fewer than 30 full coins from this pair of dies presumably at the Royal Mint’s premises at Tower Hill. Although accurate figures do not exist, there are perhaps fifteen silver Petition Crown coins and additional strikes in other metals such as pewter. Since the Petition pattern Crown was never formally issued, they are extremely rare and greatly sought after by collectors. The two-coin set offers collectors an opportunity to own a remastered edition of one of the rarest coins produced by the Royal Mint. 

Simon’s masterfully created obverse features a lifelike portrait of Charles II facing to the right (in contradiction to the direction in which Oliver Cromwell faced), his flowing hair crowned with a wreath of laurel leaves. Just under the bust of the King and in stylised lettering is the name of the engraver SIMON. The inscription around the King’s effigy reads CAROLVS II. DEI. GRA. The reverse features four crowned cruciform shields of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, with the order of the Garter at the centre. Also featured are four interlinked designs of two C’s shown in each angle between the shields. Above the group of shields is the year 1663, separated by a crown above the shield representing England. The additional legend around the design reads MAG BRI FR ET HIB REX· denoting Charles II was king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. 

For the 2023-dated two-coin set, the Royal Mint’s engraving, design, and Master Tools team have ensured that Thomas Simon’s original design of the Petition Crown was authentically re-mastered, staying true to Simon’s idea and design. Combining traditional engraving and craftsmanship skills with modern minting technology, the petition crown was successfully re-mastered, requiring specialist tooling to recreate some of the intricate details that appear on the original coin design, such as the edge inscription. While the Petition Crown features a beautiful numismatic obverse and reverse design featured on the new Proof-quality coins, the edge inscription is skillfully recreated on the edge of each coin which highlights Simon’s extraordinary talent as an engraver. Featuring a direct appeal to Charles II, this unique raised edge inscription consists of 200 letters etched across two lines, which reads:  

THOMAS SIMON MOST HVMBLY PRAYS YOVR MAJESTY TO COMPARE THIS HIS TRYALL PIECE WITH THE DVTCH AND IF MORE TRVLY DRAWN & EMBOSS’D MORE GRACE: FVLLY ORDER’D AND MORE ACCVRATELY ENGRAVEN TO RELEIVE HIM. 

The Royal Mint cannot be certain exactly how Simon, during the 17th century, was able to produce the two lines. Even with the benefit of modern minting technology, recreating the raised edge lettering proved challenging for the Royal Mint’s team of craftspeople, who relied on traditional engraving techniques combined with innovative laser technology to produce tooling that would achieve the same effect. The obverse side of both versions includes the effigy of HM King Charles III created by sculptor Martin Jennings and introduced onto British coinage in 2022. The denomination from 5 to 5000 POUNDS and year of issue of 2023 also appear on the obverse as part of the legend surrounding the King’s likeness.  

Denom.	Metal	Weight each	Diameter each	Quality	Maximum Mintage
5 pounds x 2	.999 Silver	62.2 g	40 mm	Proof	3,250 sets
10 pounds x 2	.999 Silver	156.3 g	65 mm	Proof	500 sets
10 pounds x 2	.999 Silver	312.2 g	65 mm	Proof	150 sets
200 pounds x 2	.999 Gold	62.4 g	40 mm	Proof	300 sets
500 pounds x 2	.999 Gold	156.3 g	50 mm	Proof	125 sets
1,000 pounds x 2	.999 Gold	1,005 g	100 mm	Proof	6 sets
5,000 pounds x 2	.999 Gold	5,015 g	175 mm	Proof	6 sets

Each coin is housed in a specially designed capsule to easily view the raised edge inscription. The gold coin sets are presented in hardwood high-gloss cases with numbered certificates of authenticity, while the silver option sets are housed in black polished cases and are also accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity. For additional information about this very popular series, please visit the Royal Mint’s website.

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