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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 24847703, member: 101855&quot;]British King James II became king upon the death of his brother, Charles II. Charles had fathered many children. The trouble was none of them were children of the queen. Charles had many girl friends with whom he had an estimated 16 children. None of them could become king or queen because they were illegitimate. Therefore the crown passed to Charles brother, James.</p><p><br /></p><p>James was a devout Catholic who was ruling over a Protestant nation. His appointment of Catholics to key position in the government resulted howls of protest. He was deposed in a bloodless coup.</p><p><br /></p><p>James II went into exile in France, but that did not stop him from trying to regain the crown. Since the French were always looking for ways destabilize the British Government, James received their support.</p><p><br /></p><p>James II invaded England in an effort overthrow the government. Those who supported him were paid with these pieces, called “gunmoney.” The promise was James II would pay them in gold once he regained the crown. He never succeeded, and the tokens were never redeemed. This one was worth half a crown</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is an example of a piece of “gunmoney.” This piece is sharp, but it is corroded. I realized that at the time and bid accordingly. Since this represents a nice story, but not something for which I would pay big bucks, this one is okay.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1592219[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>James II would continue to try to regain the crown for the rest of his life. His son, also named James, also continued the quest. James was known in England as &quot;the old pretender&quot; and his son was called &quot;the young pretender.&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is James II gold guinea which was issued during his short reign from 1685 to 1688. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1592220[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1592221[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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