STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. AR Medal (46.5mm, 34.33 g, 12h). Execution of Charles I. Of uncertain Dutch or German manufacture. Struck 1649. CARL · I · V · G · KÖNIG VON ENGEL : SCHOTT : UND IRRLAND/ LEYDEN GOTT UND OBRIGKEIT (
God and the Sovereign power suffer), armored and draped bust of Charles facing slightly left / BEY DES PÖFELS MACHT UND STREIT (
By the mob’s might and strife), seven-headed monster rearing right; on ground to right, crown, scepter, and head of Charles. Eimer 163; MI 352/210; Van Loon II, 321. Near EF, toned, light marks.
On 30 January 1649, Charles emerged from St. James’s Palace wearing two shirts, lest the gathered crowds interpret any shivers as fear. The king proceeded under armed escort to the Palace of Whitehall, where he was to be executed. Charles had remained resolute throughout the course of his trial, continually demanding to know on whose authority he was being tried. In his eyes, he ruled by divine right, representing the will of both the church and the English people, and did not answer to anyone but god. But Parliament also thought that they were acting for the good of the people, and they had the armies to prove it. Despite their position of strength, the would-be regicides had difficulty securing an executioner, and only after ensuring complete anonymity was a headsman found.
The king’s death sent ripples of fear throughout Europe, resulting in the production of a handful of medals commemorating the gruesome event. The present piece depicts a multi-headed monster, with sagging breasts, biting and clawing at itself as it looms over the disembodied head of the former king, thrown to the ground alongside the emblems of his office.
