2017-04-11 Tue

A hand-engraved medal from John G. Murdoch Collection with a humorous take on Oliver Cromwell supporting the Turks was sold on 14th March by Fritz Rudolph Kunker for €18,000, 18 times its pre-sale estimate. The obverse of the 36.63 grams Extremely Fine unsigned and undated medal features Cromwell on a horse, and the reverse depicts a Turk holding a cross at his feet. The design also features a monk, Turkish tents and troops.

During the English Civil War, pro-royalist forces fought against Oliver Cromwell and the pro-parliamentary group. Cromwell won to take over the Commonwealth as Lord Protectorate. Scotland made Charles II the king on 5th February 1649 while England entered the English Commonwealth when it was a de facto republic led by Cromwell.