The English Interregnum encompasses the years after the execution of Charles I in January 1649, through to the restoration of the monarchy in May 1660. Hammered coins, struck during this period, do not feature a portrait (that was removed with the king’s head) though an experimental milled issue bears a laureate bust of Oliver Cromwell. A sun mint mark was used until 1657 with an anchor used thereafter, during the tenure of Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector. Inscriptions are in English rather than Latin and any references to royal power were removed. Many of these coins feature the conjoined shields of England and Ireland, mocked by royalists for their resemblance to a pair of breeches.
