Newark Civil War siege coin sells for £3,250 in stamps and coins auction by Anderson and Garland Auctioneers, Newcastle

A silver shilling minted in Newark during the Civil War has fetched well more than expected at auction.

The extremely rare coin, a Charles I Civil War siege piece of Newark Castle, was estimated to sell for £1,000 to £2,000 when it went under the hammer at Newcastle-based Anderson and Garland Auctioneers stamps and coins auction earlier this month.

However, the historic ‘emergency money’ was sold for a higher price of £3,250.

Joseph Robert O'Donnell, marketing manager for Anderson and Garland, said: “This rare lozenge-shaped shilling, minted by Royalists under siege in Newark during the English Civil War, sold in the Stamps and Coins auction for £3,250 including fees, against an estimate of £1000 to £2,000.

“Made from donated silver to pay soldiers, it’s a true piece of history.”

Dated 1645, the lozenge-shaped coin was minted during the third and final siege of Newark during the last year of the first English Civil War.

Newark was a key player in the war, and remained loyal to the Royalist cause until King Charles I ordered the town to surrender in May 1646.

Siege coins, of which the shilling was a well-preserved example, were minted by besieged Royalists facing a shortage of currency during the gruelling conflict between Royalists and Parliamentarians.

While cut off and besieged townspeople could not access official coins, but still needed ways to pay troops and carry out transactions.

The coins were often made of silver flagons and drinking cups, donated by loyal Royalist noblemen, and bore the inscription ‘Obs Newarke’ — obs being an abbreviation of obsidium, Latin for siege.

On the other face, the coins bore a Royal crown between the initials C R.

Other siege coins from the town have recently been auctioned — with three lots of the coins sold at the Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's auction of The Frank Waley Collection of Hammered Silver and Milled Gold in December 2024.

They sold for £6,000, £2,400, and £1,400 respectively.