Pre-Long Beach Auction #84

Great Britain. Crown, 1687. S.3407; ESC-78; Dav-3779. James II, 1685-1688. Obverse, draped laureate bust of king left. Reverse, crowned cruciform shields. Regnal year TERTIO on edge in raised letters. Glossy mint state with all original mint luster preserved, this coin radiates eye appeal. Unusually well struck overall, there are only small areas of striking weakness. This specimen has been better made than many of the silver coins of this short reign. NGC graded MS-62.

* James II was king of England and Scotland (as James VII) from 1685, the second son of Charles I. He succeeded his brother King Charles II. James married Anne Hyde in 1659, the mother of Mary II and Queen Anne. In 1673, after her death, he married Mary of Modena, the mother of James Edward Stuart. He became a Catholic in 1671 and this led first to an attempt to exclude him from the succession, and then to the rebellions of Monmouth and Argyll, and finally to the Whig and Tory leaders invitation to William of Orange to take the throne in 1688. The coins of James II were minted in relatively low numbers over a 3-year period and remain rare.
Estimated Value $3,200 - 3,500.