'Jacobite' James II 'Gunmoney' Coins For Sale
Charles II died with no legitimate heir to the throne, and his brother James, Duke of York, came to the throne as James II. King James II was Catholic and the Protestants of England did not care for him. A son and heir was born to James II, at which time the people appealed to William, Prince of the house of Orange in the Netherlands, requesting that he take the English throne. Lacking the support of the people, James II fled to France, where he gathered an army and returned to Ireland. His aim was to invade England from Ireland, and retake the English throne.
One problem facing James was lack of funds to support his army. James established mints at Dublin and Limerick and issued a token coinage consisting of these Jocobite Gunmoney Crowns, Halfcrowns, Shillings, and Sixpence. These were struck in 1689 and 1690, bearing not only the year but also the month of manufacture. The Gunmoney coins were to be redeemed by his followers in Sterling, and with interest, when he re-took the throne. The month was to aid him in knowing how long the piece had been held, and what to pay. These 'coins' were first struck from metal obtained from obsolete field cannons, thus the term 'Gunmoney' though any metal he could get was fair game, and many were struck using bells, cooking pots, pans, and scrap.
William, installed on the throne of England as William III, invaded Ireland and defeated James at the Battle of Boyne River. He seized the mint at Dublin, eventually demonetizing the token coinage in 1691. The mint at Limerick held out for James well into 1691, and continued to coin 'Gunmoney' in its smaller forms until late that year. James fled to France, and died there in exile. The actions of James II and William III have relevance to the present day. William III gave lands in Ireland to his Protestant followers who helped defeat James II in 1690 and to this day they call themselves 'Orangemen', after William of Orange. The Catholic population and the Protestant population wound up in a divided country.
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| | Gunmoney 002178B | James II 'September 1689' Shilling Bronze, 7.25 grams; 24.80 mm. Dated 1689 AD. Obverse: laureate and draped bust left with legend IACOBVS II DEI GRATIA. Reverse: J R divided by crown over scepters; XII above, Sept: below with legend, MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX 1689. S. 6581D. Good very fine/very fine. | £70.00  |  |
| | Gunmoney 006982 | James II 'August 1690' Small Size Halfcrown Bronze, 10.40 grams; 29.26 mm. Struck in Limerick. Dated 1690 AD. Obverse: laureate and draped bust left with legend IACOBVS II DEI GRATIA. Reverse: J R divided by crowned scepters; XXX above, Aug below with legend, MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX 1690. S. 6580G. Good fine/good very fine. | £125.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 006987 | James II Small 'Gunmoney' Halfcrown Bronze, 10.31 grams; 29.11 mm. April, 1690 A.D. Obverse: Laureate head left. Reverse: XXX over crowned sceptres, Dated 1690 above and Apr below. Double punctuation (minted by machine 2?). S 6580A. Good Very Fine. | £350.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 006978 | James II Large 'Gunmoney' Halfcrown Bronze, 12.38 grams, 32.59 mm. September 1689. Obverse: Laureate and draped bust left. XXX over crowned scepters, Dated 1689 above and Sepr below. Double punctuation (minted by machine 2?). S 6579D. Good Fine. | £55.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 005043 | James II 'Gunmoney' Sixpence Bronze, 3.72 grams; 21.24 mm. Obverse: Laureate and draped bust left. Reverse: VI over crowned sceptres, Sepr 1689, no punctuation (Minted by Machine three?) S 6583E. Extremely Fine/Very Fine. This coin is unusually heavy by approximately 30%. | £85.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 006991 | Rare James II Large 'Gunmoney' Shilling Bronze, 5.75 grams, 26.02 mm. February 1689. Obverse: Laureate and draped bust left. XXI over crowned sceptres, Dated 1689 above and Feb below. ERA for FRA error, Double punctuation (minted by machine 2?). S 6581N Variant, Not in Coin of Scotland, Ireland and the islands. Good Fine. | £70.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 006977 | James II Large 'Gunmoney' Halfcrown Bronze, 14.90 grams, 31.99 mm. November 1689. Obverse: Laureate and draped bust left. XXX over crowned sceptres, Dated 1689 above and Nov below. Single punctuation (minted by machine 1?). S 6579G. Almost Very Fine/Fine. | £59.00 |  |
| | Gunmoney 003603 | James II Small 'Gunmoney' Halfcrown Bronze, 8.53 grams; 28.86 mm. Small size, Laureate and draped bust left, small 'O'. R. XXX over crowned sceptres, May. 1690, single punctuation (Minted by Machine 1?) S 6580B. About Extremely Fine/Very Fine. | £85.00 |  |
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S = Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands
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