Huntington Library Quarterly

During the reign of Queen Anne, medals became an established vessel for government propaganda. Medal designs were tightly regulated by ministry officials. As master of the Mint, Isaac Newton was responsible for Anne’s medallic policy. A vast array of materials, ranging from polemical pamphlets to satirical verse, testify to the political impact of Newton’s medals. Contrary to portrayals of Newton as an aloof scholar whose job at the Mint was a sinecure, this essay argues that Newton was alive to contemporary political debates and designed medals himself at the behest of senior ministers.