Milled Sixpences of James II

Obverse of 1687 Sixpence

Reverse of 1687 Sixpence

James II, the son of Charles I and the younger brother of Charles II, had not been expected to become King. Following his exile in the aftermath of the Civil War, Prince James embarked upon a successful career as a professional soldier in France, fighting on the side of the Royalists against the Fronde during their Civil War. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, James, now Duke of York transfered to the Royal Navy and enjoyed another successful career as a naval officer, eventually coming to take charge of the Royal Navy under his brother.
However, James II made the controversial decision to convert to Catholicism in 1668, a decision which was only made public in the 1670s, after the 1673 Test Act compelled those in high office to affirm that they were of the Protestant faith. Rather than convert back to Anglicanism, James resigned his office as Lord High Admiral and retired from public life until shortly before his accession in 1685. In the meantime, there was pressure from the Protestant establishment to exclude James from the line of succession, as Charles II had no legitimate heirs and his brother was therefore next in line to the throne. Charles II (a secret Catholic sympathiser himself) successfully resisted attempts by Parliament to exclude his brother from the throne, and when he died in 1685, James became king.
Powerful elements within the Kingdom were not happy with this turn of events, and constantly suspected him of trying to impose a 'popish tyranny' on England. An abortive attempt by the King's illegitimate nephew, the Duke of Monmouth to seize the throne led to a brutal crackdown, in which many people suspected of taking part in the rebellion were hanged or deported, further alienated James II from his subjects. However, most of the King's critics and enemies were prepared to accept, or at least tolerate, James' reign as long as his protestant daughter Mary (who was also married to the staunchly protestant prince William of Orange) remained heir apparent. However, in 1688, James's second wife, Mary of Modena gave birth to a son who was christened into the Catholic faith. The King's enemies now despaired that the British throne was now doomed to remain in Catholic hands indefinately. This was deemed completely unacceptable to the protestant hierarchy and led by the 'Immortal Seven' they plotted to remove James from the throne and replace him with his protestant daughter and her equally protestant Dutch Husband.
Following an invitation by the 'Immortal Seven', William and Mary landed with a Dutch Army to seize the throne from James, and many officers (including John Churchill) defected to them. James II was forced to flee into exile in France. The ex-King plotted to take back the throne via Ireland, but was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne by William III and forced back into exile, where he remained for the rest of his days, dying in 1701. Those who remained loyal to King James and his exiled line Stuart line where known as Jacobites (after the latin for James, 'Jacobus') and would remain a serious political and military threat to the British Monarchy until the middle of the 18th Century.

Year	Description	Availability	Price £	Price $
1687 (Early Shield Type)	GVF/AVF	Yes	£550	$ask

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