ver shillings of 1745 and 1746, with their inscription 'Lima’ revealing their origin – silver mines located near the Peruvian capital. The consignment came into British hands thanks to the exploits of Commodore George Anson RN, one of the Royal Navy’s greatest commanders.
Tasked with raiding Spanish possessions in the Pacific in a bid to disrupt trade, Anson sent sail from England in September 1740 with a squadron of eight ships. Despite some small gains, the mission was a disappointment. Half of Anson’s fleet were lost or forced to return home and most of his men had died. Undeterred, he resolved to make one final attempt to capture a Spanish Galleon.
Anson’s gamble paid off when the Galleon Neustra Señora de Covadonga was spied sailing for Manila – she was no match for the superior British warship. Boarding the captured vessel, Anson and his crew discovered a huge hoard of silver, including more than 1,300,000 Spanish reale 'pieces of eight' and a further 35,000 ounces of silver bullion. On his return in June 1744, crowds gathered in London to watch the captured loot rolling past in wagons on its way to The Royal Mint.
In 1702, after failing to capture the Spanish port of Cadiz, Admiral Sir George Rooke received news that a Spanish treasure fleet had entered Vigo Bay. Rather than return home empty-handed, he ordered a daring raid. All of the French ships were destroyed along with Spanish treasure galleons but, unlike Anson’s haul, the spoils were disappointing. Most of the gold and silver had already been offloaded.
When the fleet returned, some of the looted treasure was handed to The Royal Mint. In June 1703, Master of the Mint Isaac Newton noted the paltry amount: 4,504 pounds of silver and seven and a half pounds of gold. Turning it into coins presented a propaganda opportunity to reassure the public that the war was going well.
It is estimated around 20 coins were struck from the gold seized during the battle and they would have commanded a huge price tag at the time. The coins bear the distinctive ‘VIGO’ hallmark, the result of a royal warrant issued by Queen Anne so as to ‘Continue to Posterity the Remembrance of that Glorious Action’ at Vigo Bay.
Hearts and Minds
In the battle for hearts and minds during a time of conflict prior to national media, coins offered a means to spread propaganda messages. During the English Civil War, the Royalist mint in Oxford produced elaborate gold triple unite coins which suggests that Charles I was keen to promote the ongoing prestige of his kingship. They were probably made from melted down gold chains of office and jewellery. Images of these impressive coins appeared in a Royalist pamphlet, named A Warning Piece, adding further credence to the theory that they were issued as much for public relations as currency.
Charles I certainly used his coinage to increase his image as a defender of the people and the faith. He is portrayed on horseback, trampling military arms underfoot. Underscoring the imagery, the coins issued in his name are inscribed with a shortened version of the ‘Declaration’ that he made in Wellington in September 1642, promising to uphold the Protestant religion, the Laws of England and the Liberty of Parliament. This statement was slightly at odds with the promises he had made other Catholic foreign monarchs such Louis XIII of France who wanted the religious restrictions of Britain relaxed.
Security and Safekeeping
Facing the threat of invasion, governments must safeguard their supplies of bullion, shipping them overseas for safekeeping if necessary.
During the Second World War extraordinary efforts were expended on arranging for gold and currency reserves from several European countries to be shipped, in the strictest secrecy, across the Atlantic. By keeping gold from falling into enemy hands the Allies hoped to continue to fund the war even in the event of an invasion. Known as Operation Fish, in the first six months of the war Britain transported more than 100 tonnes of gold to Canada for safekeeping.
In the event of an opposing army coming over the horizo