PREVIEW: THE DR JEROME J PLATT COLLECTION OF 17TH CENTURY MEDALS

Few works of art have such direct connection to related events as Historical Medals, thus giving them a strong attraction for collectors. One of those drawn to this field is Dr Jerome J Platt, who with his wife Arleen Kay Platt R.N. has been an avid student of the English Civil War for many years.

Together they have spent decades researching the medals and those behind them, sharing their findings with an eager audience via books and articles.

Now they bring a selection of Tudor, Stuart and early Civil War medals to auction at Noonans, together with badges and military awards, as well as examples from the Commonwealth and Cromwell, followed by others from the Restoration and later.

It is a gathering that recaptures the personalities, priorities and spirits of these frequently turbulent times, while also displaying the rare talents of those who created fitting memorials to the leading figures involved.

Pre-eminent among medallists of the Stuart era was Thomas Rawlins (c.1620-70), a sometime playwright who also worked as a goldsmith and gem engraver under Nicholas Briot at the mint.

A Royalist to his boots, his signature can be found on coins of the Oxford mint during the Civil War, where he also struck medals, including one commemorating Price Rupert of the Rhine’s victory at Bristol in 1643.

Fleeing to France in 1648, he ran the gauntlet of the Interregnum on his return in 1652, even landing in jail for debt as he scraped a living.

Rawlins regained the ascendant on the Restoration when he was reinstated as chief engraver at the mint.

This sale includes several known and suspected items of his work.

One of note is of Charles I, a cast and chased gold Royalist badge. Inscribed carolvs d g mag britan fran et hib rex fi d, acknowledging the king’s claim to the French throne as well as that of England and Scotland, the reverse shows a crowned royal arms within Garter. An extremely rare medal, the estimate is £8,000-10,000.

Another, thought to be by Rawlins, is a silver-gilt medal or military reward dating to 1645 and shows a three-quarter-length bust of Prince Rupert holding a baton and wearing a Royalist badge on a sash. The reverse depicts the arms of the Prince on three shields.

As the grandson of James I, and appointed General of the Horse in 1642, the Prince gained for the Royalists the first victory of the war, at Worcester. He fought, often distinguishing himself, at Naseby, Marston Moor, and several other actions and, having occupied Bristol, surrendered the city to Fairfax in 1645.

He left England following the Siege of Oxford, deprived of his commissions. His military and naval career flourished during the period of the Commonwealth and took him as far as Barbados in 1652.

He returned to England after the Restoration, served in the Navy under the Duke of York, and was Admiral of the White at Solebay. Finally, he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty (1673-79).

The medal has a distinguished provenance to the H Montagu Collection in the late 19th century. The estimate is £4,000-5,000.

A very rare medal also by Rawlins is the Death of Charles I, 1649, in silver-gilt. Inscribed svccessor vervs vtrivsque, with the reverse inscibed inexpvgnabilis 1648, it is a defiant creation which also depicts a hammer striking a diamond on an anvil to the reverse – a metaphor for the king’s faith and fortitude. The estimate is £2,000-3,000.