Obv: View of building, THE . BANQUETING . HOUSE above, JACOBS and WHITE-HALL . in exergue. Rev: A portcullis and scales between sprigs of oak and laurel, MIDLESEX PENNY above, 1797 below. Edge: I PROMISE TO PAY ON DEMAND THE BEARER ONE PENNY.
Uncirculated. Choice brown. Proof-like and sharp.
Erected in the early seventeenth century as part of White Hall, its purpose was for holding elaborate banquets. King Charles I was beheaded after passing through one of the windows of the Banqueting House on January 30, 1648. A scaffold was erected in front of the building for this macabre purpose. To this day, the Society of King Charles the Martyr, founded in 1894, holds a ceremony on or near January 30 in the Banqueting Hall in his memory. Also, the popular ceremony of presenting Maundy Money to the poor, which are desired collectibles today, took place in this building. Maundy Money was made of four coins: a silver penny, a tuppence, a threepenny, and fourpenny. The reverse shows the portcullis, which represents Westminster, along with the symbol of Justice, the Scales. You might have noticed that there is a ‘D’ missing in Middlesex.