The Broad was an

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 ...

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

worth 20 shillings (20/-) issued by the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

in 1656. It was a milled

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...

weighing 9.0–9.1

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s, with a

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid fo ...

of 29 or 30 millimetres, designed by

Thomas Simon Thomas Simon (c. 16231665), English medalist, was born, according to George Vertue, in Yorkshire about 1623. Simon studied engraving under Nicholas Briot, and about 1635 received a post in connection with the Royal Mint. In 1645 he was appoi ...

(also called Symonds). The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

of the coin depicts the Lord Protector

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

as a laureated Roman emperor, with the Latin inscription OLIVAR D G R P ANG SCO HIB &c PRO Res_Publicae_Angliae,_Scotiae_et_Hiberniae_etc._Protector.html" ;"title="Roman_Republic.html" ;"title="livarius Res_Publicae_Angliae,_Scotiae_et_Hiberniae_etc._Protector">Roman_Republic.html"_;"title="livarius_Roman_Republic">Res_Publicae_Angliae,_Scotiae_et_Hiberniae_etc._Protector—_''Oliver,_by_the_Grace_of_God,_of_the_Commonwealth_of_England.html" ;"title="Roman Republic">Res Publicae Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae etc. Protector">Roman_Republic.html" ;"title="livarius Roman Republic">Res Publicae Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae etc. Protector— ''Oliver, by the Grace of God, of the Commonwealth of England">Republic of England, Scotland, Ireland etc., Protector'', while the reverse shows a crowned shield depicting the arms of the Commonwealth with the inscription PAX QVAERITVR BELLO 1656 -- ''Peace is sought through war''. The current value of the coin in "very fine" to "extremely fine" condition is £3,500 to £6,000 as the pieces are very rare, but normally fairly unworn, although a Mr Pinkerton, writing at the time that the coins circulated, noted that many of the coins in circulation were so worn as to be almost flat. A piedfort version of the coin with an edge inscription is known as a British Fifty Shilling coin, Fifty shilling piece. This is extremely rare, and there are very few examples as it is probably a pattern.

External links

Oliver Cromwell broad
English gold coins 1656 in England Oliver Cromwell Interregnum (England) 1650s economic history {{Coin-stub