RARE 1690 Ireland JAMES II "Gun Money" 30 PENCE Half Crown May coin -LOOK

Description: RARE 1690 Ireland JAMES II "Gun Money" 30 PENCE *Half Crown) May coin This is a rare 30p (half crown) gun money coin, designated to be paid in May, after the war. Among other things, they are the only currency minted with a month of the year. The coin is in VG+ condition with a lot of detail. Nicer than my photo - I'm not a professional photographer. ABOUT GUN MONEY and James II: Gun money was an emergency issue of coins made by the forces of James II during the Williamite War fought in Ireland between the years 1689 and 1691. It was not quite the same as the emergency issues of the Great Rebellion of 1641 where besieged cities and towns melted silver plate and issued a small amount of coins for local use during the siege – this was a countrywide currency replacement in base metal with little or no value. The deposed king James II simply did not have the cash to fund a war when he landed in Ireland and he did not wish to antagonize his loyal subjects in Ireland by imposing tax increases. An adviser in Dublin suggested he issue coins in base metal (copper, brass or pewter) and “promise to pay” in silver coin following his expected victory. This adviser was Dr William Bromfield – a surgeon, financier, politician and, sometimes, spy. He proposed a massive issue of base metal coins made from cheap and easily available scrap metal. He suggested a design with symbols that would make the coins ‘acceptable’ to the people He also suggested that including the ‘month’ would “show how seriously the King took his promise to pay” The date in months allowed for a gradual replacement, plus allow soldiers to claim interest on their wages The coins were designed very well and the ‘financial ruse’ worked Since James lost the war, the promised exchange for silver never actually took place. There was shortage of base metal coins shortly after the Williamite Wars, so it is thought that the coins were allowed to circulate at much reduced values before the copper coinage was resumed. By the beginning of the 18th C, they had mostly been withdrawn from circulation. The name “gun money” stems from the idea that they were minted from melted down cannon but we now know that many other brass objects, such as church bells, were also used. They were first struck from metal obtained from obsolete field cannons, thus the term “Gunmoney” — though, in time, any metal he could get was fair game and many were struck using bells, cooking pots, pans, and scrap. Later issues were reduced in size because of scrap metal shortage, and many pieces were over-struck on other tokens and coins. Please examine photos for condition. All sales final. Sold as-is. Emailed queries welcomed! Postage is never really free! Some or most of my items have come from barns, old houses and estate sales... UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, I MAKE NO CLAIMS AS TO ITEMS being "SMELL-FREE" or HAVING COME FROM SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS! Emailed questions always welcomed! FAST Shipping! Check my perfect positive feedback! Shipping discount for multiple orders. I make no profit on shipping... you will always be refunded any significant overcharges incurred because of my estimates.

Price: 144 USD

Location: Spicewood, Texas

End Time: 2025-01-09T02:41:05.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.25 USD