1687 Crown – Second Bust – James II


The 1687 Crown - Second Bust - James II

Silver crown (5 shillings) of King James II, dated 1687. TERTIO. Minted at the Tower Mint, London. Diameter 40mm and weight 28.59g. SCBC 3407.

The Obverse is the second bust of James II.

Edge has raised lettering: DECVS ET TVTAMEN ANNO REGNI TERTIO

The Reverse is four crowned shields. Date divided.

Image credit: Museums Victoria


Mintage: Not known
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1687 ?
Monarch is King James II. Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
James II (1685-1688)
James was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Born on 14 October 1633, the brother of Charles II, at St James's Palace, London and died 16 September 1701. Many dies engraved by John Roettier (1631-1700).

On coins, James II is usually written as Latin: IACOBVS II.

The regnal years used on James II coins were:
1686:SECVNDO; 1687:TERTIO; 1688:QVARTO.
Category: Crowns
The Crown is a very old coin, with origins dating back to Henry VIII. The English Crown first appeared in 1526. It was made of 22 carat gold ("crown gold") and has a value of five shillings (a quarter of a pound).

By 1551, silver was being used to produce crowns, although gold was sometimes still used. The silver crown was quite large, being about 38mm and weighing about one ounce. Around that time many Europeans countries had similar sized silver coins which made them good for international trade as they were essentially interchangeable.

The metal used was 92.5% silver and the rest copper so as to make the coin harder. This hardness, together with a milled edge, made 'clipping' (which was cutting slices off the edge to steal some free silver) more difficult.

After the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 a new coin, the British Crown, replaced the English Crown and Scottish Dollar. The value was set at 5 shillings and the size was 38mm in diameter and weighed about 1oz as before.

Now more of a commemorative coin

Although the coin was always part of the British coin family, its large size made it unpopular for general circulation and the half-crown was favoured as the de-facto largest coin in circulation. The Crown was more-or-less relegated to a commemorative coin.

The British economy, especially after the World Wars, took its toll on the crown too. From 1816-1919 the crown was 0.925 silver, this was reduced to 0.500 silver in 1920 and in 1947 the Crown became Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). The size standardised at 38.61 mm and (silver crown) weight of 28.276g (1 oz).

Although not in current circulation, the Crown is still legal tender. After decimalisation in 1971 the Crown was officially valued at 25 pence. In the Eighties we had inflation which brought in higher denomination coins like the pound coin and the two-pound coin, so the Government decided that the crown needed to be restored to it former glory as biggest denomination coin and the crown was re-denominated to £5 in 1990.

Today the Crown is once again made in silver and gold, usually to satisfy collectors and investors. There is a little confusion with this as there are Gold Crowns which are worth £5 but there is another five-pound Gold coin from the sovereign family - see the article on Gold £5 Coin or Gold Crown?
Which Mint: The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.
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1687 Crown of James 2nd with SQUASHED RIM
1687 Crown of James 2nd with SQUASHED RIM
£ 195.00
James ii Crown. 1687 issue
James ii Crown. 1687 issue
£ 599.99
1687 James ll Crown,  Beautifully Silver Plated,  Original Size.
1687 James ll Crown, Beautifully Silver Plated, Original Size.
£ 4.50
James II - 1687 Crown - Tertio
James II - 1687 Crown - Tertio
£ 320.00
Retro James II 1687 Plain Crown. Souvenir Gap Filler. Same size as original.
Retro James II 1687 Plain Crown. Souvenir Gap Filler. Same size as original.
£ 3.59
1687 KING JAMES II SILVER CROWN - TERTIO EDGE (16749)
1687 KING JAMES II SILVER CROWN - TERTIO EDGE (16749)
£ 399.99
1687 JAMES II SILVER HALFCROWN COIN IN USED FAIR TO FINE CONDITION.
1687 JAMES II SILVER HALFCROWN COIN IN USED FAIR TO FINE CONDITION.
£ 200.00

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