John Croker Commemorative Medalsby Timothy Skonecki
America's National Churchill Museum houses several medals created by John Croker (1670 – 1741), a master jeweler and later engraver of coins and medals.1 Croker was born in Saxony in 1670 and moved to London after finishing his jeweler apprenticeship with his godfather. During his time in London, he became a medalist and began engraving English coins and commemorative medals. He would find work at five separate provincial mints and as the chief engraver for the mint at the Tower of London. He engraved coins and medals for King William III as well as Queen Anne before being elevated to Chief Engraver for the Royal Mint. He worked very closely with the head of the Mint for many years, which happened to be the famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton. He held this position until his death in 1741. Croker designed more than 40 different medals during his lifetime.
The silver medal entitled "Capitulation of Towns on the River Meuse," commemorates British victories during the War of Spanish Succession (1701 – 1714).2 The obverse is a bust of Queen Anne (Queen of England and Scotland, R. 1702 – 1714) while the reverse depicts a row of artillery firing into the city of Liège.3 Liège was one of several cities captured in 1702 by the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, along the Meuse River in eastern Belgium (1650 – 1722).4
Another, bronze, medal was created by John Croker as a commemoration of the British victory at the Battle of Blenheim (Aug. 13, 1704) led by John Churchill against an enemy that outnumbered him.5 John Churchill became a national hero due to his military exploits during the War of Spanish Succession and was said to be Britain's best general at the time.6 The obverse of this medal shows a bust of Queen Anne while the reverse shows Brittania seated on a globe holding a spear in her right hand and Victory in her left. This image is derived from the portrayal of the Roman Emperors, who often depicted themselves as victorious masters of the world by holding or sitting upon a globe. Before Brittania is a bonded captive who is knelt over trophies of war. The exergue (inscription) in Latin at the bottom of the reverse notes that 30,000 men were taken and slain, with 163 standards carried off.7
Object information: 1986.01.04 – Capitulation of Towns on the River Meuse, and 1986.01.08 – Battle of Blenheim, donated by Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Maples
Article edited by Lena Leuci, America's National Churchill Museum, Fulton, Missouri
Timothy M. Skonecki is a junior attending Westminster Collage as a History and Museum Studies major with expertise in classical Rome. Timothy has worked for America's National Churchill Museum since spring 2021 and has attended Westminster Collage since the fall of 2021. During his time as a student, Timothy has written a research paper surrounding the existence of freewill in the John Milton story Paradise Lost as well as spent significant time researching the life of Julius Caesar for his thesis paper, "What made Gaius Julius Caesar the First of the Roman Empire." Timothy Skonecki traveled to Rome in the fall of 2024 to continue his education in Latin and Roman history with aspirations to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia after his time at Westminster Collage.
1Pfister, J.G. "Memoir of Johann Crocker, Chief Engraver and Medalist of English Mint During the Reigns of Queen Anne and the Kings George I and II." The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society 15 (April 1852–January 1853). 67-73. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42686245
2Kronoskaf: the Virtual Time Machine. "War of Spanish Succession." Accessed 17 March 2024. https://kronoskaf.com/wss/index.php?title=War_of_the_Spanish_Succession
3Farquhar, Helen. "Portraiture of Our Stuart Monarchs on their Coins and Medals, Part VI: Anne." British Numitistic Journal, 10 (1913-1914). 199-266. https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1913_BNJ_10_13.pdf
4Kronoskaf: the Virtual Time Machine. "War of Spanish Succession."
5National Army Museum. "Battle of Blenheim." Accessed 17 March 2024. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-blenheim
6National Army Museum. "Battle of Blenheim."
7Coins and Banknotes. "1704 Battle of Blenheim 34.5mm gilt-silver medal by Croker E409 MI 256/49 NEF." Archived 20 February 2024, at https://web.archive.org/web/20240220224309/https://coinsandbanknotes.co.uk/products/1704-battle-of-blenheim-37mm-silver-medal-by-hautsch-e407-mi-25650-ef-d97z9
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