James II, Gold Two Guineas (1687–1688), Kingdom of England

Historical Context

Following the death of King Charles II in February 1685, his brother James, Duke of York, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland as King James II. His short and politically turbulent reign culminated in the Glorious Revolution of late 1688, when James fled England and was subsequently replaced by William III of Orange and Mary II.

Mechanized milled coinage had been firmly established at the Tower of London Mint during the early 1660s under Charles II, implementing Peter Blondeau's edge-marking technology alongside screw presses powered by horses and manual labor. The regular gold currency series was structured into four denominations: the five guineas, two guineas, guinea, and half guinea. The denomination family took its colloquial and official name from gold imported from the Guinea coast of West Africa by the Royal African Company (RAC). James II was an instrumental architect and major shareholder of the RAC, associated with the earlier Royal Adventurers company and later the RAC before his accession, profiting directly from its transatlantic trade in enslaved persons and its shipments of West African bullion.

Coins produced directly from RAC bullion shipments typically bore the company's badge—an elephant or an elephant with a castle upon its back—struck beneath the monarch's bust. Although the elephant-and-castle badge appeared on five guineas, guineas, and half guineas dated 1687 and 1688, standard references do not list a regular two-guineas variety with that badge. This does not prove that no experimental die was ever prepared. Produced in very small minting batches across just two calendar years, the James II two guineas is among the rarest regular milled Stuart gold issues.

Obverse Iconographic Composition

The obverse displays a bare-necked, laureate bust of King James II in profile facing left. The portrait dies were engraved by Chief Engraver John Roettiers (Jan Roettier), who directed engraving operations at the Tower Mint.

The King is rendered with long, flowing curls cascading down the back of the neck and extending slightly over the plain truncation of the bust. A classical laurel wreath rests upon his brow, secured at the back of the head by two distinct dangling ribbons. The truncation of the neck is left unadorned, lacking both engraver initials and company marks. The entire obverse field is enclosed by a border of fine, raised dentils along the rim.

Obverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse inscription is rendered in Roman capital letters, reading clockwise around the perimeter of the coin from the lower left to the lower right:

• Legend: IACOBVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
• Transliteration: Iacobus II, Dei Gratia
• Translation: "James the Second, by the Grace of God"

The words of the legend are separated by centered round pellets (interpuncts). Historical catalog transcriptions, such as an early accession entry at the Cleveland Museum of Art reading DEI GRATIA IACOEVS II, represent cataloging transcription errors; surviving verified specimens consistently display the conventional sequence IACOBVS · II · DEI · GRATIA.

Reverse Iconographic Composition

The reverse features a symmetrical cruciform arrangement of four crowned royal shields of arms radiating outward around an open central space:

• Top (12 o'clock): Shield of England, bearing three lions passant guardant in pale.
• Right (3 o'clock): Shield of Scotland, bearing a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counterflory.
• Bottom (6 o'clock): Shield of France, bearing three fleurs-de-lis arranged two over one.
• Left (9 o'clock): Shield of Ireland, bearing the Irish harp.

In the angles between the four shields, four royal scepters are crossed saltirewise across the central field. The scepters carry varied ornamental finials; an exact identification of every small terminal is not certified here. The date is positioned in the upper field, split into two pairs of numerals by the cross atop the English crown. A raised dentillated border surrounds the reverse perimeter.

Reverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse legend is struck in Roman capital letters and Arabic numerals, continuing the royal titulature:

• Legend: 16 87 · MAG · BR · FRA · ET · HIB · REX · (or 16 88)
• Transliteration: 1687. Magnae Britanniae, Franciae et Hiberniae Rex
• Translation: "1687. King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland"

The date is split across the top, flanking the central crown at 12 o'clock, while the abbreviated royal titles progress clockwise around the remainder of the rim, separated by centered pellets. On the 1688 issue, the final numeral 8 is struck over an underlying 7.

Typology and Documented Variants

The statutory standard for the two guineas denomination dictated a mass of 48/89 troy ounce (approximately 16.78 grams or 258.87 grains troy), struck in 22-carat crown gold (0.9167 fine). The denomination features a module measuring approximately 31 to 32 mm in diameter. Unlike the five guineas piece, which bears raised lettering along its rim, the two guineas features an obliquely grained (diagonally milled) edge intended to deter clipping and filing. A measured die axis and an edge photograph of CMA 1969.200 are not supplied here; the edge description is for the denomination, not a direct inspection of this specimen.

Two principal date varieties are recorded in standard references:

1. Regular Issue 1687 (Plain Date):

   • Struck with unaltered date dies showing 16 87 flanking the upper crown.
   • References: Spink SCBC 3399; Bull EGC 318; Linecar & Rayner MCE 121; Schneider 454; Friedberg Fr. 294; KM# 464.
   • Documented comparison specimens include Metropolitan Museum of Art accession 2002.399.2 (measuring 32 mm) and Cleveland Museum of Art accession 1969.200 (recorded at 15.803 g and 37 mm in its paired museum record).

2. Overdate Issue 1688 over 1687 (1688/7):

   • The reverse die features the final digit 8 punched directly over the underlying 7 of an altered 1687 reverse die.
   • References: Spink SCBC 3399; Bull EGC 319; Linecar & Rayner MCE 122; Friedberg Fr. 294; KM# 464.
   • Auction records and museum surveys indicate that virtually all surviving 1688-dated two guineas specimens exhibit clear evidence of this altered numeral.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

Absence of Royal African Company Provenance Marking

The catalogued regular series lacks an elephant-and-castle variety. A production-schedule or bullion-contract explanation requires documentary evidence and is not established by the absence of a badge alone.

Institutional Measurement Discrepancies

Curatorial records occasionally contain module discrepancies that can cause cataloging confusion. The Cleveland Museum of Art catalog record for accession 1969.200 lists a diameter of "3.7 cm" (37 mm). Other recorded two-guineas specimens, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art example at 32 mm, are smaller. This discrepancy merits verification, but does not establish a catalogue error without remeasurement. The CMA value is retained as reported and is not replaced by another coin's diameter.

Specimen Mass Deviations

Comparison specimens frequently exhibit weights below the theoretical legal standard of 16.78 g. For example, CMA 1969.200 weighs 15.803 g, representing an approximate 5.8% deficit. In the absence of microscopic surface and edge inspection, numismatists treat such deficits cautiously, attributing them variously to light blank preparation at the mint, edge trimming, or extended circulation wear.

Pre-Union Titulature vs. Constitutional Authority

Although the reverse legend styles James II as King of Great Britain (MAG BR), the realms of England and Scotland remained separate constitutional entities under a shared crown until the Acts of Union in 1707. The two guineas was minted exclusively under the English royal prerogative at the Tower of London Mint and should not be conflated with Scottish coinage produced at the Edinburgh Mint.

References

1. English Gold Coinage: 1649–1816. Maurice Bull (2020), nos. EGC 318, 319, pp. 110–111
2. Coins of England and the United Kingdom: Standard Catalogue of British Coins. Spink & Son Ltd (2020), no. SCBC 3399
3. The Herbert Schneider Collection, Part II: English Gold Coins 1603 to the 20th Century. Peter Woodhead (2002), SCBI 57; bibliography, not an independently certified die assignment
4. The Milled Coinage of England. Spink & Son, The Milled Coinage of England, 1662-1946 (1950); catalogue bibliography
5. Two guineas coin of James II. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession no. 2002.399.2
6. Two Guineas: James II (obverse); Four Shields of Arms (reverse). Cleveland Museum of Art, Accession no. 1969.200
7. Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present (9th/10th eds.). Arthur L. Friedberg and Ira S. Friedberg, entry Fr. 294
8. Bonhams coin auction archive (bibliographic reference). The original lot-specific URL is unavailable; no exact lot match is certified here