The Life of Thomas Simon
Anthony Warner introduces one of the finest British engravers of coins and medals; baptized in the French Church, Threadneedle Street, on April 26th, 1618.
Thomas Simon is generally acknowledged to be the finest engraver of coins and medals that this country, and perhaps the world, has known.
It is true that he was rivalled by Thomas and William Wyon who were Chief Engravers at the Royal Mint in the first half of the nineteenth century, but Simon was working two hundred years earlier, and the Wyons had the use of powerful coining presses which were not available to Simon.
The coins of Simon were struck by hand, and some of his medals were cast, the fine detailing being improved by chasing after the manner of a silversmith. His most famous work is the ‘Petition Crown’ and in the minds of many, Simon scarcely exists apart from this one coin.
Much of what we know about Thomas Simon comes from a book by George Vertue written in 1753, and produced again in a second and enlarged edition in 1780.
It begins,
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