Great Seal of the Commonwealth

Timeline

1. 1649–1651London · EnglandAfter the execution of Charles I (1649), the English Commonwealth abolished royal arms and commissioned engraver Thomas Simon to cast a new great seal. The obverse depicts the House of Lords, the reverse a map of England and Ireland; in 1651 a map of Scotland was added to match the annexation of Scotland, wholly replacing symbols of royal power.
2. 1651–1659London, Palace of Westminster · LondonDuring the Commonwealth and Protectorate, the seal was used to certify parliamentary statutes, treaties, land grants, and other important state documents, and was the sole lawful symbol of state sovereignty. Its design deliberately emphasized Parliament's legislative authority, replacing monarchical absolutist totems with republican principles of governance, carrying important political significance.
3. 1660London · EnglandAfter the Restoration, the Commonwealth great seal was formally abolished by Parliament as a symbol of an unlawful regime, reportedly broken or melted down to eliminate material proof of the republic's legitimacy. Fragments and matrices passed into private collections and now survive in institutions such as the British Museum, serving as precious material witnesses to the English Civil War and republican experiment.