Description

George I. 1714-1727. Silver Medal 1721, 51.70 g. Prince James (III), 'The Only Safeguard'. Unsigned, by O. Hamerani. Bust of Prince James, armoured and draped. VNICA SALVS. Rv. Hanoverian horse tramples on the English lion and Scottish unicorn, the distraught figure of Britannia to left; a view of London beyond. QVID . GRAVIVS . CAPTA. In exergue: MDCCXXI. Plain edge. 49.9 mm. Eimer 493. MI ii 454/63. Vorzüglich / Extremely Fine.

The Atterbury Plot was a conspiracy led by Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster, aimed at the restoration of the House of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. It came some years after the unsuccessful Jacobite risings of 1715 and of 1719, at a time when the Whig government of the new Hanoverian king was deeply unpopular. The 1721 plot failed due to insufficient financial and military support.

This medal was executed when great exertions were being made secretly to raise troops and to supply arms to insurgents in Britain in order that another effort might be made to replace the Stuarts upon the throne. It was intended for distribution among the Jacobites. The mysterious suppression of the Prince's name increased the interest of his cause, and the treatment of the British supporters, deemed by the party to be the symbols of the Stuarts only, was calculated to fan the flame of indignation against the House of Hanover.