Any insight or opinions appreciated about the bottom medal. (The quotes are from An Introduction to Commemorative Medals in England 1685-1746: Their Religious, Political and Artistic Significance.) But first the background information: Charles II (known as the Merry Monarch) died after a relatively successful reign of a quarter century. His younger brother James II followed him to the throne. Unfortunately, James II lacked the subtle management skills that his older brother Charles II possesed and that Charles II had used to successfully mollify Parliament and placate the competing religions. James II was forced to abdicate in 1688 after only three years into his reign, soon after the birth of his son (James III, later known as the Old Pretender). James II’s son-in-law and daughter (William and Mary) replaced him. This is one of the medals struck for James III: Here is the medal in question of the children of James III (the grandchildren of James II who had been forced to abdicate in 1688). The Children of James III circa 1730 It was this Charles Edward Stuart who later led the Jacobites (those who supported the reinstatement of the Stuart family of James II and not the German Hanoverians of George II) to military failure at the disastrous battle of Culloden in 1746. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden These medals, for me, are the reason to study numismatics. They give tangible insight and evidence to a distant and rich past. guy
