Pre-Long Beach Auction #84

Great Britain. Crown, 1741. S.3687; ESC-123; Dav-1348. George II. Roses. Obverse, armoured laureate bust of king. Reverse, crowned cruciform shields. Edge D.QVARTO. Practically as struck, free from imperfections and lightly toned with original lustre fully evident. High grade 'young head' Crowns of George II are disappearing very quickly. NGC graded MS-62. WINGS Approved.

* George II married Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach and they had nine children. He was granted an allowance from parliament of £800,000, considerably more money than other monarchs had received. Avoiding controversial stances, he maintained the support of many influential Tories who had supported the exiled Stuart pretender to the English throne. As a result, no senior politician deserted George's cause during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) landed in Scotland, but support fell away and he was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
George brought England into the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and led his troops into battle against the French at Dettingen, the last British king to fight in battle. The 1740s was a decade of change, but also consolidation, and this was reflected in the coinage. Engravers and designers John Croker and Rudolf Ochs died in 1741 and 1748 respectively, but John Ochs Jnr and Johann Tanner worked on the king's coinage and outlived him by many years. George II died on 25 October 1760.
Estimated Value $4,200 - 4,500.