If you are looking to collect at least one coin from each king or queen's reign, there are a few pieces that are really impossible. One of them is Lady Jane Grey, who was queen for nine days in 1553. The adults used her as a pawn to gain power after Henry VIII's sickly son, Edward VI, died and his daughter, Mary I, took control. No coins were struck for Lady Jane Grey over those nine days, but some pieces were made for fill the void much later. Another difficult spot to fill is for Edward V, who was king for a few months in 1483. He was only 12 years old. He inherited the crown after his father, Edward IV, died unexpectedly. Plans were underway for his coronation, but Richard III, his uncle, who did not have a proper claim to the crown usurped the throne and imprisoned Edward and his brother in the Tower of London. Ultimately both brothers were murdered and their remains were hidden. Either Richard III or Henry VII had them killed, although most believe that Richard was responsible. The Spink British Coin Guide lists an angel, half-angel and a few silver coins under Edward V, but they are rare and their status is in the air. I purchased this silver counter, probably made during the reign of Charles I as a filler. Young Edward looked nothing like this, but it does fill a spot that I could not otherwise cover.
Yes, when Princess Diana died in 1997, one commentator said that, “There is a lot of blood on the British crown.” I didn’t fully understand what that met until I got deeply into the collection of British coins and their history. Queen Mary had Lady Jane Grey and her fiancé executed she put down a second uprising to make her queen.
Very nice. I'm attempting, albeit very slowly, a side collection of Maundy pennies from as many rulers as I'm able. I'm primarily a German States collector and it's really interesting when you get into the history how intertwined all of the Royal houses of Europe were.
For the Maundy pennies, I'm just winging it. I'm working on the 19th and 20th century monarchs currently. For German States coinage I use the Krause catalogue of German coins, 1601-present. The NGC world coin database, saurma.info (a really good website reference for pre 1600 coins). There are countless references books for specific German regions from the 1800s. I have one such reference detailing the coins of Osnabruck and surrounding areas. There is a popular catalogue by Merseberger that is like to obtain. I am often able to look up coins on ma-shops. Dealers there are extremely good at putting reference numbers in their listings which gives me a place to begin.