Lot 2281
Great Britain. Laurel, ND NGC MS63. S.2638C; Fr-242. James I, 1603-1625. Third coinage. Fourth head variety. Mint mark Lis (1623-4). Obverse, draped bust of king left, mark of value (XX) behind. IACOBVS D:G: MAG: BRI: FRA : ET HIB: REX. Reverse, crowned shield of arms. FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM UNAM. This is a sharply struck mint state coin which glistens with original luster. The portrait is exceptional and the reverse shield beautifully detailed. NGC graded MS-63.
*This Laurel of 20 shillings was produced within a year or two of the end of James's reign, in the period 1623-1624. James died in March 1625, sadly, a prematurely senile figure at the age of 59, and was succeeded by his son Charles I. James was not a popular or beloved King of England, nor was he a popular King of Scotland, though overall he did succeed better in his northern realm. For some Scots he was the great betrayer who sold their birthright to the English. For others, who did not object to the union of the two crowns, his betrayal lay in settling in London rather than Edinburgh, and thereby reinforcing the eminence of the English capital and English domination.
But generally it was agreed that this unlikely monarch had succeeded where his more illustrious forebears - and English cousins - had failed. If he was not in fact the King of Great Britain, he had peacefully united the 2 crowns into a dual monarchy. Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,500
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| Realized $5,875 |
