Lot 2290
Great Britain. Unite, ND. S.2620; Fr-234. James I, 1603-1625. Second coinage. Mint mark crescent (1617-18). Obverse; Three quarter length bust of king in armour, IACOBVS. D G MA BRI FRA ET HI REX. Reverse; FACIUM EOS INGENTEM VNAM ('I will Make of them one Nation' - a biblical reference to the joining of the thrones of Scotland and England) around a crowned quartered shield of arms, I and R to the sides. A superb portrait of the king with tiny die marks in front. Practically as made, with a glint of original luster, and rare thus. PCGS graded AU-50. Estimate Value $3,000 - 3,500
*The crescent mint mark dates this large gold coin to the period 1617-1618. James I of England was also James VI of Scotland, the first of the Stewarts and the monarch who united the Scottish and English thrones. There was the usual crop of court intrigues and domestic irregularities to sort out, but across the ocean there was also constant change. With new discoveries, Britain's empire began to take shape. In 1607 the first English colony in North America had been established by John Smith at Jamestown (named after King James I) in Virginia. In 1609 Hudson explored the river and bay in Canada, in 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America and founded the Plymouth Colony in New England. Four years after that Virginia became a Crown colony and a decade later the first settlers went to Maryland.
James was a better strategist than his son Charles I and managed to avoid great conflicts both at home and abroad. He also endeavoured through the marriages of his children to establish a strong Protestant alliance throughout Europe. A great achievement was the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to the Elector Palatine Frederick in 1613. From this union the Hanoverian kings of England were descended.
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