A RARE £1 coin dating back to the English Civil War has fetched more than £50,000 at auction.

The solid silver Declaration Pound dates back to 1643 and was struck in Oxford, which was then a newlyforged seat of power for Charles I after he left London.

Maddi Puleston of Duke’s is pictured with the Declaration Pound.

A new parliament was set up along with a new mint at New Inn Hall in Oxford to create an official currency in Royalist control.

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At an auction at Duke’s in Dorset yesterday the £1 coin sold for £56,120. It had been expected to reach at least £50,000.

Timothy Medhurst, coin specialist and auctioneer at Duke’s said: “It’s one of rarest coins I’ve handled and it was an honour to do so.

“It’s from a very important period of history – the English Civil War – and there’s been a lot of interest worldwide in this coin.

“It was bought by someone in the room for £56,120 – there were many other bidders by phone as well.”

The auctioneers said that it does not release information about its buyers.

The coin is a rare piece from Charles I’s reign and was discovered when its former owner took it to Duke’s auction house without realising what it was.

It comes after another Charles I period coin was unearthed next to a skeleton from the same period by archaeologists at St Cross College in Pusey Street.

The remains were found during a building project at the college on Wednesday, February 25.

Archaeologists were puzzled by the discovery as they had no idea why she was buried there.