A Red Face Among The "Time Team" Experts
Posted: 12 Sep 2018, 17:58
I have been watching an old edition of "Time Team" the English (Channel 4) TV programme where archaeologists have 3 days to discover interesting things about various sites, This one was about Hopton Castle in Shropshire, a Parliamentary outpost which was besieged by a Royal army in 1644. During the excavation there was much excitement over the discovery of a gold coin. We only briefly see the obverse (a king's head) and reverse (a coat of arms) before it is passed to a lady who - without looking at the reverse - immediately opines that, as it says "Jacobus" above the head, it must be "the head of the Scottish King James V and therefore from about the time of the Battle of Flodden (1513)". We are then vouchsafed another quick view of both obverse and reverse. Clearly visible are the the following:
Q1: Quarterly France and England,
Q2: Scotland
Q3: Ireland
Q4: Quarterly France and England
Later in the programme we are informed that the coin was a gold "laurel" sovereign from the 1620s. No mention of it being English, or that the King was James I & VI.
The text on the obverse is: IACOBUS D G MAG BRI FRA ET HIB REX, which might be a clue as to which King is involved.
Q1: Quarterly France and England,
Q2: Scotland
Q3: Ireland
Q4: Quarterly France and England
Later in the programme we are informed that the coin was a gold "laurel" sovereign from the 1620s. No mention of it being English, or that the King was James I & VI.
The text on the obverse is: IACOBUS D G MAG BRI FRA ET HIB REX, which might be a clue as to which King is involved.