September
 2003 Issue
By James C. Johnston Jr.
Photos by Steven Vater

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         In 1940, a film called Hudson’s Bay was produced in Hollywood. This was the story of the founding of the Hudson Bay Company. Great effort was given to historical accuracy. This was needed in order to give the ultimate reality to the film and transform the actors into historically correct figures. Vincent Price played England’s “Merry Monarch,” Charles II.

            Charles II did not have an easy time of it. He was born on May 29, in 1629 or 1630 (depending on whose dates one embraces). By 1641, the English Civil War was well underway, and Charles spent the next eight years dashing from one place to another and attending various battle engagements. His father was decapitated by the Puritans in 1649, and Charles was in mortal danger.

            The six-foot-two-inch royal was forced to travel at night, hide and sleep in trees, and fold himself up into “priest’s (hiding) holes” in country houses and mansions. Eventually he took flight to France to live under the protection of his first cousin, Louis XIV. He would later flee to Scotland, only to briefly return to England before going back to France and to the Netherlands. All the while, he was living off the charity of his relatives. Finally it was his sister, who was married to the ruling member of Netherlands’ House of Orange, who arranged for him to return to England as her crowned king.

The denarius of Nero resembles Peter Ustinov in Quo Vadis? in the role of the mad emperor.	This twenty franc coin of Napoleon looks a lot like Charles Boyer, Marlon Brando, and Armand Assante, who all played the emperor of the French.	This 20 franc coin carries the image of Napoleon III and looks like Claude Rains in the 1939 film Juarez.

            Despite these troubles in his youth, Charles was known as the “Merry Monarch,” because he spent his reign entertaining himself at the center of a glittering court. He was married to Catherine of Braganza of Portugal. He was later urged to divorce her because she failed to produce a male heir, but he refused because she would have had to return to Portugal in disgrace and live her days as a lonely royal reject. It is reported that she not only returned his affection, but remained in the bedroom next to his while helping to find him pretty companions to make him “merrier” still.

            Transforming Vincent Price into a convincing Charles II had its problems. It was important to get the look of the wig and make-up right. There is a model of Charles in an English wax museum, but that was too far away from Hollywood. Technical advisor Clifford Wilson, art directors Richard Way and Willard Ihnen, and others turned to a coin for the most historical and realistic depiction of the face of Charles II. As odd as this may sound to some, it is not surprising to coin experts. Numismatic portraits are often not only the most authentic likeness of an historic figure, but they are also frequently the only existing portrait.

            These coin-sized portraits are not always flattering, either. Consider a portrait of Nero. By no means could he be considered handsome. He looks thick-necked and bull-headed. It looks as though his body, which resembles an oversized Cupid, had endured too many feasts at the palace.

            Another example of Hollywood looking to coins can be found in the film Cromwell. Alec Guinness plays Charles I (the father of Charles II who had lost his head), and his costume and make-up was based on a coin. Just look at a coin of Hieronymus, Bishop of Salsburg, who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s much-hated patron, and compare it to the actor who played him in the film Amadeus. They look exactly alike. In addition, Marlon Brando and Charles Boyer both look very much like the portrait of Napoleon on a 20-franc coin as they played him.

            For more than 2,600 years, coins have been history’s perfect time capsule. If you want to be remembered years from now, be like Washington. Get your face on a coin.

This half crown of Charles II minted in 1676 served as a model for Vincent Price’s wig and make-up in the movie Hudson’s Bay.	This Charles I shilling of the 1640s looks just like Alec Guinness who played the unfortunate king in the film Cromwell.	This shilling of Elizabeth I looks like Bette Davis, who played the queen in two films, Flora Robeson who played Elizabeth in Fire Over England, and Dame Judy Dench who played Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love.
This 20 Kreuzer coin of 1790 depicts Hieronymus, Archbishop of Salsburg. He looks exactly like the actor who portrayed him in the film Amadeus.	This tetradrachma depicts Alexander the Great as Hercules and looks a lot like Richard Burton, who played the Macedonian king in the 1950s.	William III, on this crown of 1695, looks like the actor who played him in P.B.S.’ production of The First Churchill’s.

           My Calendar

            If you would like to catch up with me in this month, I will be in Dedham, Mass., on Sunday, Sept. 7, at the N.E.S.S. Coin and Stamp Show at the Holiday Inn, which is located near the junction of Routes 1 and 128. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            On Sunday, Sept. 14, I will be at Tom Lacey’s Greater Worcester Coin Show in Auburn, Mass., at the Ramada Inn located off Exit 10A on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            On Sunday, Sept. 28, I will be at the Chelmsford Coin and Stamp Show at the Radisson Hotel at 10 Independence Drive in Chelmsford, Mass. This show is located off Exit 34 (Route 110) off Interstate 495. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 You may also wish to check my website for further updates.    www.johnstonantiques.com