Cromwell Crown Die

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Royal Mint Museum is its collection of coinage tools. A handful of medieval dies have survived but from the second half of the seventeenth century an outstanding series of punches and dies has been retained which represents an enormously valuable resource.

Of particular interest is the die for the obverse of the 1658 crown, which clearly displays the familiar crack across the lower half of Cromwell's bust. It is possible to trace the course of this crack on successive coins, from a small raised feature that appears on early pieces, to the uneven jagged line apparent on later specimens. Another important feature of the die is that it was designed to be housed in a press and as such forms part of that period of transition between the abandonment of the hammer and the full-scale adoption of screw-press technology under Charles II.