2017-04-17 Mon

The discovery and disruption of the "1605 Gunpowder Plot" in England was celebrated on a special Good Very Fine bronze medal which was sold for $525 in an online auction on 12th April, five times higher than its actual estimated value. This conspiracy was intercepted and averted before the Parliament met in 1605. An anonymous letter revealed the plot which was sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, on Oct. 26, 1605.

The plan was to bomb the House of Lords during the State Opening of England’s Parliament as the conspirators were against the ban on priests in 1604. If all went as per the plan, King James I of England and VI of Scotland would have been killed. Guy Fawkes was arrested when he was found with 36 barrels of gunpowder underneath the House of Commons the night before. The blast would have also killed everyone within 330 feet, as per experts. Plotters wanted to install James’s 9-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as the Catholic head of state. They were all captured and executed.

The obverse inscription reads DETECTVS • QVI • LATVIT • S • C , which translates to “the concealed one is discovered.” A coiled snake (Jesuits), surrounded by roses (England) and a lis (France) are depicted. The reverse has the words NON DORMITASTI ANTISTES IACOBI, translating to “you, the keeper of James, have not slept,” from a verse in the book of Psalms, with a rosette and the name of God in Hebrew.