Two Silver Counters of James I and Prince Charles, issued 1616-1620 & 1628 by van der Passe family

[DonnaML]

I purchased both of these recently at separate auctions; the footnote applies to both. Both depict James I on the obverse. The first depicts a  young Prince Charles on the reverse, and the second  -- actually issued after the death of James I -- shows Charles approximately a decade later, with a beard.

Photos:

1.  

2.  

Descriptions:

1.  England, James I and Prince Charles, AR Counter (cast or struck with possible engraving/chasing thereafter, see fn.), 1616-1620, van der Passe [also spelled de Passe] workshop, London, probably designed by the engraver Simon van der Passe (b. ca. 1585 in Utrecht, Netherlands, worked in London ca. 1616-1622, d. 1644 in Denmark).  Obv. Bust of King James (three-quarters right) in broad-brimmed hat with jewel attached to brim, wearing lace ruff, ermine robes, and chain of Order of the Garter; around from 1:00, legend • GIVE THY IUDGEMENTS O GOD UNTO THE KING [“HE” in “THE” ligate; N in “KING” partially hidden and G completely hidden behind King’s hat] / Rev. Young bust of Prince Charles (three-quarters right), bareheaded and clean-shaven, wearing lace ruff and riband for medal; around from 1:00, legend AND THY RIGHTEOUSNESSE UNTO THE KINGS SONNE [“HE” in “THE” ligate; NE partially hidden behind Prince's head]. 27 mm., 2.32 g. Mitchiner 3 Ch. 77.1, Type “a,” Nos. 4767-4775 at pp. 1661-1662 (ill. at same) [Michael Mitchiner, Jetons, Medalets and Tokens, Vol. 3, British Isles circa 1558 to 1830 (1998)]; MI i 272 p. 376, ill. Pl. xxxiv, no. 1 (rev. ill. var., with beard) [Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I p. 376, No. 272 (London, 1885, reprinted 1969; Plate volume 1911, reprinted 1979)]; Farquhar, Helen, “Silver counters of the seventeenth century,” Numismatic Chronicle, 4th Series, Vol. XVI, at pp. 133−93, ill. Pl. V Nos. 2 (obv.) & 1 (rev.) (1916); Eimer 174 (p. 50), obv. ill. Pl. 21  [Christopher Eimer, British Commemorative Medals and their Values (Spink, 2nd ed. 2010)]. Purchased from Spink USA, Auction 394, 31 Jan 2024, Lot 171.*

2. England, James I and Prince Charles, AR Counter (cast or struck with possible engraving/chasing thereafter, see fn.), ca. 1628, van der Passe [also spelled de Passe] workshop, London (probably designed by Simon van der Passe’s brother, the engraver Willem a/k/a William van der Passe [b. ca. 1597/98], who remained in England from 1620/21 until his death in 1637, whereas Simon returned to the Netherlands in 1622 and moved to Copenhagen in 1625. Their father and brother, both named Crispin/Crispijn and both also engravers, never worked in England.) Obv. Bust of King James (three-quarters right) in broad-brimmed hat with jewel attached to brim, wearing lace ruff, ermine robes, and chain of Order of the Garter; around from 1:00, legend GIVE THY IVDGEMENTS O GOD UNTO THE KING [“V” not “U” in IVDGEMENTS; “HE” in “THE” ligate; N in “KING” partially hidden and G completely hidden behind King’s hat] / Rev. Mature bust of Prince Charles (three-quarters right), bareheaded with prominent mustache and beard down to top edge of ruff; wearing lace ruff and riband for medal; around from 1:00, legend AND THY RIGHTEOVSNESSE UNTO THE KINGS SONN [“V” not “U” in “RIGHTEOVSNESSE”; “HE” in “THE” ligate; no “E” at end of “SONN”]. 26.26 mm., 2.64 g. Mitchiner 3 Ch. 77.1, Type “c,” No. 4784 at p. 1664 (ill. at same) [Michael Mitchiner, Jetons, Medalets and Tokens, Vol. 3, British Isles circa 1558 to 1830 (1998)]; MI i 272 p. 376 (rev. var., see note stating that “Varieties of the above counter give older portraits of Prince Charles, having a beard”), ill. Pl. xxxiv, no. 1 (rev. ill. var.) [Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I p. 376, No. 272 (London, 1885, reprinted 1969; Plate volume 1911, reprinted 1979)]; Farquhar, Helen, “Silver counters of the seventeenth century,” Numismatic Chronicle, 4th Series, Vol. XVI, at pp. 133−93, ill. Pl. V Nos. 2 (obv.) & 3 (rev.) (1916).  Purchased from Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Osnabrück, Germany, Auction 401, 5 Feb. 2024, Lot 1100.*

Footnote, applicable to both:

*Silver counters depicting James I and Prince Charles  -- as well as counters depicting Charles I & Queen Henrietta Maria, Gustavus Adolphus & Maria Eleanora, and two later series of 36 different counters each, issued in the 1630s, depicting the sovereigns of England beginning with Edward I in both full-length and half-length versions -- “were used as markers or counters ‘for reckoning and for play.’ They appear to have been issued in sets of thirty-six, composed either of pieces of different types or of repetitions of the same type. Some of these counters were executed by Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller, goldsmith, and engraver to Elizabeth, and afterwards to James I. From the latter, Hilliard received in 1617 a patent granting him the monopoly for twelve years of all engraved portraits of the King and the Royal Family, and in virtue of this patent he sold licences to other engravers to execute these counters. Simon [van der] Passe and his brother [Willem/William], both of whom excelled in the art of engraving, are said to have received such licences. The period over which the issue of these pieces ranges is from 1616 to 1638, the earlier date corresponding with that when Simon Passe commenced his portraits of various members of the Royal Family and others.” Medallic Illustrations Vol. I, op. cit., pp. 375-376.

Specifically with respect to the counters depicting James I (reigned 1603-1625) on the obverse and Prince Charles (later Charles I from 1625-1649) on the reverse, Mitchiner’s book (see p. 1661) summarizes Helen Farquhar’s 1916 study in the Numismatic Chronicle Vol. XVI as concluding that “the portraits of King James and Prince Charles on the counters bore close resemblance to contemporary painted portraits. She also considered that progressive maturation in the portrait of Prince Charles,” including adding a beard to the earliest, clean-shaven portrait, “indicated that these counters had been manufactured through a period of several years -- during 1616-1625, and with a later re-issue in 1628.” Mitchiner adds (id.) that “Helen Farquhar has produced a good case for considering that those counters bearing the portraits of King James and Prince Charles were first produced . . . in 1616,” when Charles was 16 years old. “This exempted the counters of Simon van der Passe from the prohibition of 1617 made in favor of Nicholas Hilliard. The school of Simon van der Passe continued producing their counters for several years. After Simon had returned to Holland in 1621/22, the school in London was managed by his brother William van der Passe. He worked there from 1620, or 1621, until his death in 1637.”

At pp. 1661-1664, Mitchiner classifies the James I/Prince Charles counters into three groups as follows: “The main types of these counters, slightly simplified from the views put forward by Helen Farquhar, can be placed within three groups whose portraiture of Prince Charles spans the period circa 1616 to 1628,” with the portraits of James I on the obverse remaining essentially unchanged. Mitchiner describes the three groups as “a. Prince Charles clean shaven: 1616−c.1620, . . . . b. Prince Charles has a moustache and a beard: circa 1620−1625, . . . . c. Prince Charles has a more mature portrait, with larger moustache and beard: c.1628” (i.e., after the death of James I and the ascension of Charles I to the throne in 1625), with the final portrait of Charles apparently copied from an engraving of that year. (Id. p. 1664, citing Farquhar’s article; see Numismatic Chronicle XVI at p. 165 & n. 55, referring to an “exact prototype in an engraving probably of the year 1628, by W. J. Delff after Mytens.”)

As noted in the descriptions of my two counters above, and as is clear from the two photos, the reverses fall into Mitchiner’s categories “a” and “c” respectively. Both types are illustrated in Plate V to Farquhar’s article, as nos. “1” and “3,” respectively.

By contrast, here is an example of a counter with the type “b” reverse (not mine), sold by St. James Auctions on 27 June 2016 (found on acsearch; see https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=3174513 ) :

Even apart from the fact that Charles’s beard on type “c” is considerably longer than the one on type “b” -- extending all the way down to the top edge of his ruff -- the easiest ways to distinguish type “c” from type “b” are the absence of the single line present in “b” dividing the ruff down the middle, and the fact that the legends for type “c” use “V” for “U” in two places (once on the obverse and once on the reverse), whereas type “b” (like type “a”) uses “U” throughout.

As Eimer explains at p. 50, all types of the small James I/Prince Charles silver counters are “in extremely low relief and similar in execution to the oval medals produced [in 1616] by Simon van der Passe.” The reference is to the earlier series of large 50 mm. x 63 mm. [2” x 2.5”] oval plaques of James I and the rest of the Royal Family, issued by van der Passe in 1616 in silver and gold, as described in Medallic Illustrations Vol. I  at pp. 214-218, Nos. 61-63, 66-69. See these examples of the James I oval plaque in silver, and the Prince Charles oval plaque in gold, sold by  Baldwin's of St. James's in 2019 for $5,331 (see https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=6055775), and by Künker in 2022 for $72,150 (see https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=9948190), respectively:

 

 

The manner of execution of the small silver counters like the two I purchased “has been the subject of much debate, with MI [Medallic Illustrations] suggesting it to be by means of striking, in imitation of engraving; while a paper by Helen Farquhar (1916 [see full citation above] was unable to arrive at any firm conclusions.” Eimer p. 50. (Farquhar concluded after microscopic examination that some of the counters were struck and others cast.) Eimer continues: “The technical difficulties associated with preparing dies able to withstand the striking of a relatively large number of medals of this kind are such that this does not really offer itself as a realistic option. Comparing examples of the same medal suggest that neither can hand engraving be considered an alternative, and they are almost certainly fine quality casts.” Id. See also Mark Jones, “The Technique of Simon van de Passe reconsidered,” Numismatic Chronicle, Vol. 143 at pp. 227-230 & Plates 44-46 (1983) (see https://www.jstor.org/stable/42665184), concluding after microscopic examination of various specimens of the James I/Prince Charles counters in the British Museum collection that “while de Passe engraved the models for his medals and, on occasion, directly engraved medals not intended for reproduction; the reproductive technique used in his workshop was neither stamping in imitation of engraving, nor engraving, whether or not assisted by transfers [from portrait prints], but simple casting” -- which was nonetheless “very skilful casting, of the order seen in contemporary work by Guillaume Dupré and others, and presumably followed by a polishing process which produced the ‘clean and sharp’ surface referred to by [G.F.] Hill.” Jones, op. cit. at p. 230 & n. 18 (citing G.F. Hill, “The Technique of Simon Van de Passe,” Numismatic Chronicle, 4^th Series, Vol. XV pp. 230-242 (1915)).

However, despite citing the 1983 Jones article, Mitchiner, writing in 1998, continues to maintain (contrary to both Jones and Eimer) that “Counters of this series were manufactured by striking with dies and subsequently refining some details by engraving (chasing), especially on the later counters in the series.” See Mitchiner, p. 1661. See also Colin Narbeth, “Silver gambling counters of the Simon van de Passe School,” Casino Chip and Token News, pp. 58-59 at p. 59 (April-June 2003) (“Many numismatists disagree” with Jones, on the ground that “the quality and sharpness of work on such thin flans mitigates against the casting processes available at the time”). Finally, an article by Penny Davies, “Peter Oliver and Simon De Passe,” British Numismatic Journal Vol. 87 pp. 254-258 (2017) (available at https://www.britnumsoc.org/images/PDFs/BNJ_2017/15q_Short_Articles_184_-_Davies.pdf), in proposing a portrait miniature of Prince Charles by the artist Peter Oliver as the possible prototype for counter type “b,” takes an intermediate view, citing both Jones’s and Mitchiner’s positions on the method of manufacture of the van der Passe counters, but pointing out at p. 255 that even if the counters were, in fact, all the product of casting, “[t]hese cast counters could equally have been subsequently refined by engraving and chasing.”

Please post anything you think is relevant, including any counters or jetons in any metal from any country.

Edited March 7 by DonnaML

[JeandAcre]

Yowie, @DonnaML, those, complemented as usual by your very illuminating erudition, are magnificent.  (Instant edit:) Huge thanks for all of your detail and documentation, only particularly about these.

Here are my examples, relatively recent acquisitions.  (Right, both already posted in the forum.)  The first is redundant, relative to Donna's OP.  Oh, well.

The other one commemorates the marriage of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, as Donna's post also mentions.

@DonnaML, it's landing on me that you liked the post that the pictures were lifted from.  Oops, more redundancy. Sorry.  

But I do like the pointedly political emphasis of the reverse:

Three crowns (surely representing Scotland, England and France), joined by a scepter, tipped by a fleur de lis, and a sword.
IN + VNO + TRIA + IVNCTA (The three joined in one).

Edited March 7 by JeandAcre
'Reverse:' both legend and motif.

[DonnaML]

53 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Yowie, @DonnaML, those, complemented as usual by your very illuminating erudition, are magnificent.  (Instant edit:) Huge thanks for all of your detail and documentation, only particularly about these.

Here are my examples, relatively recent acquisitions.  (Right, both already posted in the forum.)  The first is redundant, relative to Donna's OP.  Oh, well.

The other one commemorates the marriage of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, as Donna's post also mentions.

@DonnaML, it's landing on me that you liked the post that the pictures were lifted from.  Oops, more redundancy. Sorry.  

But I do like the pointedly political emphasis of the reverse:

Three crowns (surely representing Scotland, England and France), joined by a scepter, tipped by a fleur de lis, and a sword.
IN + VNO + TRIA + IVNCTA (The three joined in one).

Nice! Even your first one isn't redundant: you have type "b," while I have types "a" and "c." Together, we have all three, at least of that general type. I have my eye out for one with Charles and Henrietta Maria, although I do already have this small medal issued to commemorate their marriage:

England 1625, Marriage of Charles I to Henrietta Maria (unofficial), by P. Regnier. Obv. Busts face to face; above, celestial rays. He, head bare, wears ruff, doublet buttoned, and George of the Garter suspended to riband; she, hair jewelled, wears earrings, necklace, dress, and stiff ruff, CH. MAG. ET. HEN. MA. BRIT. REX. ET. REG [Charles the Great, and Henrietta Maria, King and Queen of Britain] / Rev. Cupid walking, right, scattering roses and lilies, above, celestial rays, FVNDIT. AMOR. LILIA. MIXTA. ROSIS [Love pours out lilies mixed with roses (alluding to the union of the lilies of France with the roses of England)]; in exergue: 1625. AR 24 mm. Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I  p. 238 No. 1 (1885, reprinted 1969); Eimer 105A.* 

*This “medalet” is described in the earliest book that I know of devoted to the subject of English coronation and other “royal” medals. See William Till, Descriptive Particulars of English Coronation Medals, from the Inauguration of King Edward the Sixth to our Present Sovereign, the Queen Victoria (London 1838), at pp. 14-15: “HENRIETTA MARIA, queen consort of Charles the First, was never crowned; her profession of the Catholic faith excluded her from that honour, although among the Harleian manuscripts, a prospective account is given of such an event, presuming it would take place; but we meet with what is termed a nuptial medal, or medalet, having her portrait and that of the sovereign opposite to each other, with their names and titles. On the reverse, Cupid is strewing flowers; the legend, FVNDIT AMOR LILIA MIXTA ROSIS – Love pours forth Lilies mixed with Roses; allusive to the union of the rose of England and the fleur-de-lis of France, in the persons of Charles and Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry the Fourth. These pieces are very common; there are also numerous small oval medals of this princess, bearing her portrait, with that of her husband.”

Edited March 7 by DonnaML

[JeandAcre]

...Aaaah. Donna, that one's magnificent.  

I'm sorry to report that, back to the late '80's, I found a holed, worn example of this, at a local coin show.  Priced accordingly, except that, you could easily imagine someone having worn it, perhaps into the Civil War.  ...At some point, I let it go.  Access ongoing kickself mode.

(Edit:) To end on a more cheerful note, I love how the motifs visually complement the legends.  Evoking the mutual complexity, and corresponding synergy, between visual 'emblems' of the period, and the Metaphysical Poets.

Edited March 7 by JeandAcre

[DonnaML]

There's one aspect of these silver counters I forgot to comment on specifically: it astonishes me that after more than a century of repeated microscopic analysis by different scholars, nobody has yet been able to determine definitively whether they were struck or cast, with or without subsequent "chasing." Nobody seems to have trouble making that determination for ancient coins, so why is it so impossible for these counters?