Great Britain, Charles I, Civil War coinages, Newark-on-Trent besieged, 20th century reproduction, WRL series, prototype Spink 3140.

Great Britain, Charles I, Civil War coinages, Newark-on-Trent besieged (1645-46), modern 20th century reproduction, WRL series, prototype 1646 AD.,
Halfcrown (24 x 25 mm, ø 30-38 mm / 5,08 g), white metal alloy, axes medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), plain edge with a production seam (by casting ?), diamond shape,
Obv.: (WRL) / C - R / XXX , large double-arched crown with jewelled band dividing C R, value below; immerged producer´s initials at top.
Rev.: OBS: / NEWARK / 1646 , in three lines.
for genuine pieces cf. -Brooker 1222 ; -N. 2638 ; SC C1HC 650 ; - Spink 3140 ; - KM 371 .

Newark-on-Trent or Newark is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent.
During the English Civil War, Newark was a mainstay of the royalist cause, Charles I having raised his standard in nearby Nottingham. It was attacked in February 1643 by two troops of horsemen, but beat them back. The town fielded at times as many as 600 soldiers, and raided Nottingham, Grantham, Northampton, Gainsborough, and others with mixed success, but enough to cause it to rise to national notice. At the end of 1644 it was besieged by forces from Nottingham, Lincoln and Derby, the siege was only relieved in March by Prince Rupert.
Parliament commenced a new siege towards the end of January 1645 following more raiding, but this was relieved by Sir Marmaduke Langdale after about a month. Newark cavalry fought with the king's forces which were decisively defeated in the Battle of Naseby, near Leicester in June 1645.
The final siege began in November 1645, by which time the town's defences had been greatly strengthened. Two major forts had been constructed just outside the town, one, called the Queen's Sconce, to the south-west and another, the King's Sconce to the north-east, both close to the river, together with defensive walls and a water filled ditch 2¼ miles in length, around the town. In May 1646 the town was ordered to surrender by Charles I, which was still only accepted under protest by the town's garrison. After the surrender most of the defences were destroyed, including the castle which was left in essentially the state it can be seen today.

The Relief of Newark was a Royalist victory during the First English Civil War. It was a personal victory for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and it resulted in the Royalists holding Newark-on-Trent until very near the end of the War.


"WRL" means Westair Reproductions Ltd. They are based at Birmingham, UK.