Join us to celebrate the release of the book The Naseby Cup: Coins and Medals of the English Civil War, which offers an in-depth look at one of the most exceptional numismatic objects in the world. Now in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery and on permanent view in the Bela Lyon Pratt Gallery of Numismatics, the Naseby Cup was crafted by the silversmiths Charles Reily and George Storer in 1839. John and Mary Frances Fitzgerald, Lord and Lady of the Manor at Naseby—in Northamptonshire, England—commissioned the object to commemorate the Battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645, during which the forces of the English Parliament defeated the Royalist army of King Charles I. The intricately decorated Victorian cup stands more than two feet tall and features 72 coins, medals, badges, and counters from around the time of the English Civil War (1642–51), many of them extremely rare numismatic pieces in their own right. Benjamin D. R. Hellings, the Jackson-Tomasko Associate Curator of Numismatics and author of the new book, will be present to share fascinating details about this centerpiece of the museum’s holdings. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund. 

The Naseby Cup: Coins and Medals of the English Civil War is the inaugural book in the Gallery’s Yale Collections series, which brings the museum’s collection to life in short, accessible, and affordable publications that present significant new research.