Cloth Seal, James II, Alnage, Fleur-de-lis, Image & Found by Derfel.
Found on Thames foreshore, 20 x 14mm.
missing // Bust facing right, OF ENG (LAN) around // fleur-de-lis 1 1/2 to sides // missing
Two discs of a four part alnage seal. Head facing to its left with inscription around - OF ENG (LAN)D . Other disc fleur-de-lis 1 1/2 to sides.
This an Alnage seal probably of James II. The inscription OF ENG LAND has the 'Charles II type' head of James II in the gap. Similar post-reformation seals can be seen in Egan, 1994, Lead cloth seals and related items in the British Museum, British Museum Occasional paper 93, figure 27. See especially number 137 for the portrait comparison.
The numbers either side of the fleur-de-lis, 1 1/2 (d) represent the amount of alnage tax paid on the cloth.
