Obv: Bust facing right, RT. HR. C.J. FOX around, JAMES below. Rev: A soldier and two citizens, WE ALSO ARE THE PEOPLE around, 1796 in exergue. Edge: Milled.
NGC MS62BN. Cert. # 2457772-015. Choice brown with the slightest wear. A solid EF.
So much is being said on the reverse die, which shows two citizens shaking hands with a soldier, accompanied with the phrase “We also are the People”. In France, the undoing of the monarchy had much to do with the soldiers and the populace fraternizing, causing the military to sympathize with the revolutionary cause. Spence is cleverly suggesting that the same thing could (and should) happen in England. A good example of a seemingly benign image by Spence which was actually quite seditious at the time.