Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 22007 - British and World Coins and Commemorative Medals Autumn Auction
Lot: 744

Flight of James II from London, AR Medal, 1689, by J. Smeltzing, IACOBUS II BRITAN : REX FUGITIV •, draped bust left, hair in wig-bag, rev. NON ICTV HVMANO, SED FLATV DIVINO •, a column struck and broken by lightning issuing from the name of Jehovah in Hebrew, view of London from the south, SPONTE FUGIT IACOB : ANG : REX L 20 DEC : CAPTUS 23 D• 1688• ITERUM FUGIT 2 IAN : 1689• S•N• in exergue in four lines, plain edge, 49mm, 56.33g (Eimer 302; MI 649/3; Woolf 7:2; Harding 10 this medal), a handful of light contact marks, otherwise with a flashy-brilliance beneath dark grey surfaces and cabinet toning in hues of ochre and blue, a most handsome example in hand, good extremely fine and extremely rare, only one other traced by this cataloguer on CoinArchives

After landing at Torbay, William marched towards Salisbury where James' much larger army was mustering. However, cities across the north of England rose in revolt and desertions struck the royal army; Churchill himself rose to William's camp together with the Duke of Grafton and about 400 officers and troopers. A representative of the Captains of the Fleet arrived in William's camp to say that the fleet was at William's disposal. James decided to return to London and called a Council with a view to negotiating with William, but the King found that resistance was impossible. He slipped away from Whitehall Palace on the night of the 10th/11th December in a small boat with a view to going to a larger vessel awaiting his downstream. En route he flung the Great Seal of England into the Thames in a futile attempt to make the processes of government more difficult. On joining the ship that was to take him to France his party was recognised by local fishermen, dragged ashore and returned in ignominy to London. After several days of suspense he was discreetly allowed to escape, never again to set foot upon English soil.

Subject to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Sold for
£5,500

Starting price
£1300