Coin hoard including rare half crown

Inverness was a centre of conflict during the civil war in Scotland, as the Beauly Firth area became a focus of the struggles between the Royalist forces and the Covenanting army. Hartlebury Castle served as a royalist garrison during the civil war, and doubled as an emergency mint when the royalist forces needed expedient coinage. Half crowns from the Hartlebury mint are extremely rare: the half crown discovered in the hoard is the first known from Scotland, and only the third or fourth from Britain. The half crown bears the image of Charles I on horseback, most likely based on Anthony Van DyckÂ’s triumphant equestrian portrait of the king, a powerful image of monarchy.