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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 25483948, member: 101855&quot;]<b>“James”</b></p><p><br /></p><p>James I (1603-25) was originally James VI of Scotland. He became king when Elizabeth I, “the virgin queen,” died childless. He was a respected monarch, but the same could not be said for his son, James II who ruled briefly from 1685-8.</p><p><br /></p><p>James II was a devout Catholic who wanted to return England to the great church’s fold. He appointed Catholics to key positions in the government and interfered in the conduct of Protestant services. He was removed as a result of a bloodless coup. James fled to France where he, his son and grandson spent decades trying to regain the crown.</p><p><br /></p><p>His most serious attempt was in 1689. when his supporters, French troops and Irish revolutionaries joined him in a raid on the British Isles. An interesting numismatic by-product of this failed attempt was “gun money.” These pieces were base metal tokens, sometimes made from melted down guns, which James promised to redeem in silver coin once he regained the crown. His efforts failed in 1691 , and the pieces were never redeemed although they did trade at a discount below their face value for a time.</p><p><br /></p><p>James’ son and grandson, the Jacobites, continued the quest to regain the crown. They were known in England as the “old and young pretenders” and roundly disliked. No subsequent king has been named “James.”</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1631339[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>James I introduced this large gold coin, &quot;the unite,&quot; which was worth 20 shillings and then 22 shillings from 1612. It celebrated the uniting of England and Scotland under his reign. </i></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1631340[/ATTACH]</p><p>James I replaced the unite with laurel in 1619. This lighter gold coin was valued at 20 shillings. The coin above is a half laurel (Note the &quot;X&quot; behind James&#039; head). </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1631342[/ATTACH]</p><p>Charles II introduced the guinea which was valued at 21 shillings. James II continued to issue the coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1631343[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1631344[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>After he was deposed in a bloodless coup, James II attempted to regain his crown by force. He was supported by Englishmen and Scotsmen who were loyal to him, the French and the revolutionary Irishmen. James issued gunmoney pieces which he promised to redeem in silver coin after he had regained the crown. Some of these pieces were made from metal recovered from melted down guns. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>These pieces had months on them which marked the time James would redeem them, to avoid getting slammed with redemptions all at once. The top piece, a shilling (XII pence) had a &quot;Dec.&quot; date while the bottom one, and half crown (XXX for 30 pence) bore a &quot;Sep.&quot; date. </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>James failed to regain the crown, and these pieces were never redeemed. They did trade as tokens at a discount for a time, however.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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