Found by a metal detectorist near Brandon Parva, Norfolk, in 1991, the bust portraits lettered CR and QK record the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza, who landed at Portsmouth in May 1662. The marriage had taken place on April 23, 1662, by proxy, in Lisbon.
According to Nerylla Taunton’s Antique Needlework Tools (1998), a handful of similar thimbles are known including those in the British Museum and in the Museum of London. Surviving examples carry different maker’s marks – in this case the clearly struck letter G.
Charles II commemorative silver thimble sold for £980 at Bleasdales.
This example sold in a specialist sewing timed sale in Warwick that ended on November 18.
