Queen Anne England and Britain

 

6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714

 

Anne you could stand to lose a little weight, Honey.

Anne's father was Catholic and unpopular.  Anne had been raised Anglican, and so occupied a better position along with her sister Mary.  After the glorious revolution deposed James the second(one of the reasons why James' coins are so expensive), Mary(and William who had invaded the country to get rid of James) and Anne became the next in line for the throne.  Anne was never healthy with much speculation as to a number of possible illnesses causing more than a dozen still births and miscarriages, and left her with only one child, William, who survived to age 11. (She had two healthy daughters who died of Smallpox)  She had gout, survived Smallpox, could not seem to keep a friendship going for long...a tragic and difficult life.  However, despite criticism of her abilities as a queen, she reigned over a fairly prosperous kingdom that benefited from a Union with Scotland to become Great Britain.  The country became much more prosperous with this free trade union, and her legacy is generally very positive both politically and in the arts.  As none of her children survived, she was succeeded by her German cousin George, which caused endless problems with Scotland.

Her coins are not terribly uncommon, but tend to be a little pricey.  This coin was a fluke at under 20 dollars, but be prepared to see little under 60.  Of course, by this time coins were becoming a bit heavier and more like modern coins.  This was advertised as a cleaned coin, which, I think sent up red flags.  However, I do not think that it is uncommon to see fairly bright, "handled" coins of this age group, and if I said nothing about it to the next owner, it might not be observed, especially after a few years of patination.  I did not really care, I just want a coin with a nice face on it when possible.

Anne occupies a unique place in the line of monarchs being queen first of England and then of the modern state of Great Britain, so there is usually a break in the continuity when researching the line.