This badge is a very rare survivor from a period of political turmoil in England. Owning a piece like this would have indicated Royalist sympathies and discovery would have led to imprisonment or death. The suspension ring incorporated in to the body of the badge would have allowed the piece to be worn as a pendant or displayed in other ways about the body but it would have taken a very brave man or woman to have worn one until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. As such it seems that most of the surviving pieces were probably kept in shrines in the homes of royalist sympathisers and handled regularly-hence the relatively poor condition of these pieces.

It is hard to think of an object the embodies history in quite the same way as this badge. It is a tiny and remarkable survivor-a relic of times past that is both aesthetically stimulating and of real historic significance. This piece deserves to become a treasured heirloom in another family-thankfully now without the threat of persecution accompanying ownership.