Lot 2222
Great Britain. Crown, 1687. S.3407; ESC-78; Dav-3779. Obverse; John Roettier's second laureate draped bust of king left, JACOBVS II DEI GRATIA. Reverse; Crowned cruciform shields, plain angles, edge reads TERTIO. An exceptionally sharply struck piece which exhibits none of the idiosyncratic weakness so often evident on these large silver coins. Well made and lustrous with a deep steely blue tone. PCGS graded MS-62. Estimate Value $6,500 - 7,500
*James II was the younger brother of Charles II. With Charles installed as king in 1660, James became Duke of York, and in 1664 when the English captured New Amsterdam, it was presented to James and renamed New York in his honour.
But James was an unpopular, serious, and religiously driven character. During the reign of Charles II, the Government tried to pass an Exclusion Bill which would have removed James from the succession to the throne. Charles was able to thwart this on three occasions between 1670 and 1681, but this, and the Popish plot of 1678 (where rumour spread of a plan to assassinate Charles and install James on the throne) unleashed a massive wave of anti-Catholic feeling. James prudently went into exile in Brussels and thence to Scotland in late 1679.
The Scots were annoyed by the presence of a Catholic heir in their midst whilst Catholic reform was an ongoing issue. James became less moderate, and in July 1681 he pushed 2 bills through the Scottish Parliament - The Act of Succession and the Test Act, both of which forced the greater acceptance of Catholicism.
In February 1685 James became King of England and Scotland, but he never visited Scotland again. Opposition to James swelled in England, chiefly from those who despised his vindictiveness and his religious intensity. James Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegitimate son, arrived at Lyme Regis on 11th June 1685, and was proclaimed King 9 days later. Earlier, Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, had invaded Scotland in May 1685 in opposition to James II. Both uprisings were quickly quashed.
Argyll was captured, imprisoned without trial, and executed in Edinburgh on 30th June 1685. Monmouth was defeated at Sedgemoor on 5th July 1685. The infamous Judge Jeffreys set up his 'Bloody Assizes' in the west country, where many of Monmouth's supporters were captured and executed. James now started a reign of terror as he began to impose Catholicism on an unwilling nation.
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| Realized $7,500 |
