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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 25482394, member: 101855"]I collect British coins more for their history that anything else. I wrote this article, but when I finished it, I knew it was not suitable for a coin hobby magazine. I hope that you will enjoy it with the coins of each of kings that are covered. Here is part 1. The victory of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 brought about a change in the way England recorded the names of its kings and queens. Prior to 1066, kings had often been given nicknames based upon an aspect of their lives. The pious nature of Edward was noted by his historical name, Edward the Confessor. The murder of another Edward made him Edward the Martyr. The failures of Æthelred II made him Æthelred the Unready. [ATTACH=full]1631153[/ATTACH]Edward the Confessor, King enthroned, orb type [ATTACH=full]1631156[/ATTACH]Edward the Martyr was stabbed in the back while he was receiving a cup of mead.  [ATTACH=full]1631157[/ATTACH] Æthelred the Unready raised an army when he needed a navy. He built a navy when he needed an army. Overall he tried to bribe the Vikings not to invade England. That scheme failed, but his coins are fairly common as a result. Although William the Conqueror received a nickname, he was also known as William I. His son, William II, was called “Rufus the Red.” After that kings and queens came to be known by their first name with a Roman numeral after it. Over time, these numbers have become quite large. For example Edward VIII who gave up his throne “to marry the woman he loved” was the eighth post William the Conqueror  king to have the name “Edward.” George VI and William IV were the sixth and four kings to bear those names respectively. [ATTACH=full]1631159[/ATTACH]No one is sure why two stars were placed beside the portrait of William the Conqueror on this penny. They may have represented Halley's Comet which made a pass in 1066. Some thought that it was a good omen for William and a bad on for Harold II who died at the Battle of Hastings. [ATTACH=full]1631160[/ATTACH]William the Conqueror appointed his favorite son, also named William, to succeed him as the King of England. William II, also known as "Rufus the Red," died from a "hunting accident" that was staged by his brother, Henry. Oddly some very common names have seldom been used. For example, “John” is a very common male name, yet there has been only one British king who has had it. Why would that be? My theory is that the names of kings who had questionable or very poor reigns, have been used sparingly or not at all. Perhaps the fathers and mothers of future rulers did not want their children to begin their reigns with negative connotations because of their names. King John, Ruled 1199 to 1216 In an age when some question the propriety of dishing rulers of the past, King John still gets notoriously bad marks. John began his royal life under trying circumstances. When his father, Henry II handed out kingdoms to his sons, John received nothing. He was known as “John Lackland,” and this certainly must have been a blow to his ego. John was given a post in Ireland, but he was a lord, not a king. Coins were issued with his portrait and name, but he still had secondary royal status. John’s nasty reputation began when he tried to usurp his brother, King Richard the Lionheart’s, crown while the king was held for ransom in Austria. John dragged his feet when the English were raising Richard’s ransom, but the ransom was paid, and the king was released. After Richard died in 1199, John became king. His reign was marked by high taxes, battlefield losses, poor management and betrayals of those who had once supported him. At one time, John held half of the coinage in England, but he continued to lose ground in his battles on the mainland of Europe. He personally murdered his nephew, Arthur, who was the closest relative who might have replaced him as king. He had people imprisoned, tortured and starved to death for minor infractions. Ultimately the English noblemen rebelled and forced John to sign the Magna Carta, which would ultimately became the basis for civil rights in all of England. John was able to skirt the Magna Carta during his reign, but it would become an important political document in the civil rights struggles in England and eventually, America. At the time of John’s death from dysentery in 1216, the King of France had invaded the English mainland. After John’s death, the British were able to save their country, but it was no thanks to John, who as gone down as England’s worst king. Coins of Richard the Lionheart and John Oddly enough, neither Richard the Lionheart not John issued English coins in their own names. The pennies continued to be issued in the name of their father, Henry II. [ATTACH=full]1631173[/ATTACH]An English penny attributed to Richard the Lionheart [ATTACH=full]1631174[/ATTACH]An English penny attributed to John Irish coins were issued in John's name. [ATTACH=full]1631175[/ATTACH]A John "moon face" half penny, 1190 - 1198. [ATTACH=full]1631176[/ATTACH]"Rex Coinage" King John Irish coinage, circa 1207 to 1211. These pieces were used to pay John's mercenary soldiers. More to follow![/QUOTE]

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