HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Croker (21 October 1670 – 21 March 1741), born in
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and known in his youth as Johann Crocker, was a master
jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...
who migrated to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, where he became a
medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually ...
and engraved dies for
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and later
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
coins and medals. For most of his adult life Croker worked in England, serving provincial mints as well as that at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. For some seven years he engraved the die stamps for the coins of
King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...
and Queen Anne before becoming Chief Engraver to the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclu ...
, a position he held from 1705 until his death. He worked closely with the head of the Mint, the famous scientist
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
.


Life

Crocker was born at
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth lar ...
in 1670, the son of a cabinet-maker to
John George II, Elector of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector ...
, by his marriage to Rosina Frauenlaub. His father died while he was still a small boy, and he was apprenticed to his godfather, a goldsmith and jeweller in Dresden. After completing his apprenticeship, Crocker migrated first to the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
and then in 1691 to England. There, he was employed by a jeweller and worked as a medallist, anglicizing his name to "John Croker". In 1697, he became one of the assistants to the chief engraver of the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclu ...
, Henry Harris.Warwick William Wroth, 'Croker, John (1670–1741)' in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', vol. 13
Justin Croft Antiquarian Books: "Scotland: Croker, John"
.
After Harris died in 1704, Croker petitioned Lord Godolphin,
Lord High Treasurer of England The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...
, to succeed Harris in the position, stating that he had The officers of the Mint recommended Croker,Christopher Edgar Challis, ''A New History of the Royal Mint'' (1992), p. 409 and on 7 April 1705 he was chosen chief engraver. In the same year he married a Miss or Mrs Franklin, and they had one daughter, who died in childhood. Shortly after his appointment at the Mint, Croker received confirmation of his right to issue medals on his own account, which was seen as a means of maintaining his engraving skills. The medal pictured (signed "I. C.", not "J. C.", as the inscription is in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
) commemorates the Act of Grace of 1717,''The Numismatic Circular'', volumes 30–32 (1922), p. 467 by which hundreds of Jacobites were freed almost two years after the
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, ...
. Philip Henry Stanhope, Henry Reed, ''History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles'' (1849)
p. 206
/ref> Struck in silver as well as in bronze, on the obverse is the head of King George I, on the reverse the winged figure of Clemency surrounded by the words "CLEMENTIA AVGVSTI". In her left hand is an
olive branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...
, in her right hand is a
caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...
with which she touches the head of a fleeing snake, representing Rebellion.New Gallery, London, ''Exhibition of the Royal House of Stuart'' (London: Richard Clay and Sons, 1889), p. 207 Almost all of the dies for the coins of Queen Anne and King George I were engraved by Croker, and, until 1740, many for those of
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
. He was also the creator of a large number of medals. In 1729 the Master of the Mint admitted, with some apprehension, that Croker was then "the only man now living who has hitherto made Puncheons for the Head on the Coin", and recommended the appointment of an assistant,
John Sigismund Tanner John Sigismund Tanner (1705 – 14 March 1775; ) was an engraver of the Kingdom of Great Britain, making dies for coins and medals. Tanner, a native of Saxe-Coburg, worked mostly for the Royal Mint at the Tower of London and was its Chief Engrave ...
, then aged only 24. Croker's wife died in 1735, but he had good health and eyesight until his last two years. Although ailing, he still did some engraving work and liked to read in his spare time. He died on 21 March 1741 and was succeeded by his assistant, Tanner.


Medals

Croker's principal medals are as follows: *''State of Britain after Peace of Ryswick'', 1697 *''Accession'', 1702 *''Coronation'', 1702 (official medal) *''Anne and Prince George of Denmark'', 1702 *''Expedition to Vigo Bay'' 1702, view of Vigo harbour *''Capitulation of Towns on the Meuse'', 1702 *''Cities captured by Marlborough'', 1703 *''Queen Anne's Bounty'', 1704 *''Battle of Blenheim'', 1704 *''Capture of Gibraltar'', 1704 *''Barcelona relieved'', 1706 *''Battle of Ramillies'', 1706 *''Union of England and Scotland'', 1707 *''Battle of Oudenarde'', 1708 *''Capture of Sardinia and Minorca'', 1708 *''Citadel of Lille taken'', 1708 *''City of Tournay taken'', 1709 *''Battle of Malplaquet'', 1709 *''Douay taken'', 1710 *''Battle of Almenara'', 1710 *''The French lines passed, and Bouchain taken'', 1711 *''Peace of Utrecht'', 1713 *''Medallic portrait of Queen Anne'' *''Arrival of George in England'', 1714 *''Entry into London'', 1714 *''Coronation'', 1714 (official medal) *''Battle of Sheriffmuir'', 1715 *''Preston taken'', 1715 *''Act of Grace'', 1717 ''(pictured)'' *''Treaty of Passarowitz'', 1718 *''Naval Action off Cape Passaro'', 1718 *''Caroline, Princess of Wales'', 1718 *''Order of the Bath revived'', 1725 *''Sir Isaac Newton'', 1726 *''Coronation of George II'', 1727 (official medal) *''Queen Caroline, Coronation'', 1727 (official medal) *''Second Treaty of Vienna'', 1731 *''Medal of the Royal Family'', 1732, obverse only; reverse is by J. S. Tanner


Notes


External links


Medals by John Croker
at
National Museums Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...
online collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Croker, John 1670 births 1741 deaths British medallists German emigrants to England German medallists Artists from Dresden 18th-century English male artists