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George III. Chester, King & Constitution Club.

Started by constanius, January 24, 2010, 10:02:46 PM

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constanius


George III. Chester, King & Constitution Club. 45mm WM. unlisted in BHM, also unsigned. Has the look of Thomas Wyon Senior's work.

Figleaf

The Napoleonic era saw the formation of modern political parties, formerly mostly based on religion, now based on political dogma. The liberals, with Thomas Payne as inspiration, supported sovereignty for the people, royal power reigned in by a written constitution and free speech. The conservatives wanted the opposite and in particular sovereignty for the king. The result was a strange compromise, in which the people had sovereignty and elections were held, but the king had the last word in political matters, the constitution remained unwritten, but parliament was the highest judicial tribunal and free speech did not include the right to criticise the royal house or to advocate a change in the political system. This medal is probably issued to the members of a conservative club in Chester, but it is not unthinkable that it was for a liberal club. The god - king references are either pillars of the conservative dogma but could also be meant as reassurance that the liberals would not pursue the goals and means of the French revolution. Constitution could either be a liberal dogma or a conservative reference to the unwritten constitution.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

constanius

Local rivalries and national political groupings in Chester were emphasized more with the foundation of a Tory King and Constitution Club in 1817 and a Whig Club in 1820. A Colonel Barnston was the 1st President and one of the leading founders of the King & Constitution Club. It had 148 members and ceased to exist circa 1824.

This is most likely the Colonel Barnston named above:
Roger Barnston, esq of Churton, Colonel of the Royal Chester Militia. He served the office of sheriff of Chester, in the year 1801 and was for many years the highly respected Colonel of the county militia. Born 1749 Died 1837.

translateltd

First time I've seen that obverse inscription anywhere in English that I can recall.  Curiously, it's the motto under the Fijian coat of arms (as seen on their crown-sized dollars of the 1970s and, I think, banknotes), translated into Fijian: Rerevaka na Kalou ka doka na Tui.



constanius

#4
I know of one other, though there might be more.

George III Death Medal 1820. Obv. Name of Jehova in Hebrew above rays shining down on Imperial crown.FEAR GOD, HONOUR THE KING. Rev. THE LORD'S PRAYER. BHM# 996 RRRR. Br. 25mm by Kettle.Here is one more.
1795 Middlesex William's Halfpenny Condor Token
D&H #915
OBVERSE: The Prince of Wales' crest upon a portcullis. W. WILLIAMS LONDON, under. RENDER TO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S.
REVERSE: A crown on the arms of London, FEAR GOD AND HONOUR THE KING 1795. EDGE: Plain.
http://www.coinsandstamps.com/foreigncoins/Condor%20Tokens/08%20Middlesex/bct446.htm
"Fear God: honour the king" 1 Peter 2:17.