Charles I at Oxford: Coins

Charles I at Oxford opens in Money Gallery 7 at the Ashmolean Museum on 12 December 2026 and runs until 5 December 2027. It's a free display of coins and medals that tells the story of King Charles I's stay in Oxford between 1642 and 1646, when the city served as the seat of the king and home to his court.

Most of the pieces come from the museum's Heberden Coin Room, which holds a world-class collection of Charles I coins made right here in Oxford. Among them is the triple unite, or triple pound, the largest denomination ever struck in the 17th century. There's also a gold coronation medal commemorating his 1633 coronation as King of Scotland, and a group of 'siege pieces' — money struck while royalist strongholds like Newark were under siege. The display doesn't just show the coins; it puts them in context, looking at things like hoarding and defacement.

Two recent acquisitions from the 1640s make an appearance too: the Bull collection of Oxford half-crowns and a piece of Scottish religious silver made during the English Civil War. It's a long run, so there's plenty of time to drop in if you're around the museum over the next year. Admission is free.