Obverse of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Royalist badge showing a portrait of Charles I.
Reverse of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Royalist badge showing the crowned royal arms within the Garter.
Obverse and reverse views of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Charles I Royalist badge.
Obverse of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Royalist badge showing a portrait of Charles I.
Reverse of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Royalist badge showing the crowned royal arms within the Garter.
Obverse and reverse views of the mid-17th-century silver-gilt Charles I Royalist badge.

Charles I Royalist badge, silver-gilt, mid-17th century

$395.00

During the English Civil Wars, allegiance could be carried on the body. Small enough to wear or pin, a badge like this declared loyalty to the Crown in a divided kingdom where political symbols were not merely decorative.

This cast and chased silver-gilt badge presents a bare-headed portrait of Charles I with a falling lace collar on one side, and the crowned royal arms within the Garter on the reverse. Its scale is intimate, but its message is not. Portrait, arms, and gilded surface compress monarchy and legitimacy into an object made to be held close.

The badge type is recorded in Medallic Illustrations, vol. I, no. 361/235. This individual specimen is published by Jerome J. Platt as type I, specimen I5 and is documented as a Royalist badge type attributed to T. Rawlins. It survives with a large crack across its upper half—a significant condition issue, plainly disclosed here—while the portrait itself remains intact.

Date: Mid-17th century

Origin: England

Attributed to: Thomas Rawlins, based on published typological comparison; no maker’s mark is identified on the badge.

Material: Cast and chased silver-gilt

Dimensions: 27 × 20 mm

Weight: 2.40 g

Design: Portrait of Charles I on the obverse; crowned royal arms within the Garter on the reverse

Provenance: Noonans Mayfair, Coins and Historical Medals, 10 June 2026, lot 1142; subsequently acquired by the dealer.

Condition: Age-related wear, darkening, and losses to the silver-gilt surface. A large structural crack extends through the upper portion of the badge, with associated distortion and apparent losses along the upper edge. The badge should be handled as fragile. No conservation treatment has been documented.

During the English Civil Wars, allegiance could be carried on the body. Small enough to wear or pin, a badge like this declared loyalty to the Crown in a divided kingdom where political symbols were not merely decorative.

This cast and chased silver-gilt badge presents a bare-headed portrait of Charles I with a falling lace collar on one side, and the crowned royal arms within the Garter on the reverse. Its scale is intimate, but its message is not. Portrait, arms, and gilded surface compress monarchy and legitimacy into an object made to be held close.

The badge type is recorded in Medallic Illustrations, vol. I, no. 361/235. This individual specimen is published by Jerome J. Platt as type I, specimen I5 and is documented as a Royalist badge type attributed to T. Rawlins. It survives with a large crack across its upper half—a significant condition issue, plainly disclosed here—while the portrait itself remains intact.

Date: Mid-17th century

Origin: England

Attributed to: Thomas Rawlins, based on published typological comparison; no maker’s mark is identified on the badge.

Material: Cast and chased silver-gilt

Dimensions: 27 × 20 mm

Weight: 2.40 g

Design: Portrait of Charles I on the obverse; crowned royal arms within the Garter on the reverse

Provenance: Noonans Mayfair, Coins and Historical Medals, 10 June 2026, lot 1142; subsequently acquired by the dealer.

Condition: Age-related wear, darkening, and losses to the silver-gilt surface. A large structural crack extends through the upper portion of the badge, with associated distortion and apparent losses along the upper edge. The badge should be handled as fragile. No conservation treatment has been documented.

  • The badge type is recorded in Medallic Illustrations, volume I, 361/235, plate xxxii, figure 15. This individual specimen is published in the catalogue of the Dr. Jerome J. Platt collection, Platt I, page 289, type I, where it is identified as specimen I5.

    The attribution to T. Rawlins is supported by those published scholarly classifications. No maker’s mark has been identified on the object itself, so the attribution should be understood as a well-supported catalogue and reference attribution rather than a confirmed signed work.

  • This badge was part of the Dr. Jerome J. Platt collection of seventeenth-century medals and was later sold through Noonans Mayfair, formerly Dix Noonan Webb.

    Its inclusion in the Platt catalogue gives the object a documented history within a named specialist collection.