British Kings "Bullet Book" King George I, 1714 - 1727

BillJones

King George I Quarter Sovereign

• After Queen Anne failed to produce a surviving heir, the British crown went to George I from the House of Hanover. George was the great grandson of James I, who had arranged the marriage of his daughter, Elizabeth, to a German States king.

• George was not all happy with his new royal inheritance. Although he understood the English Language, he could not speak it well and preferred to write in Latin and French. His true ties were to his native Hanover, and he continued to spend considerable time there during his reign, much to the disgust of his British subjects.

• George was very much a military man. He was made an Imperial Field Marshal in 1707.

• He most enjoyed spending time with his mistress, Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg. They enjoyed playing cards and making paper cut-outs.

• George disliked his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle. They were married in 1682 and divorced in 1694 after she had an affair with a Swedish count. After her indiscretion, he had her locked in a castle in Hanover for life. Rumor had it that her lover, Königsmarck, was murdered and his body was hidden below the floorboards of a palace.

• George did not get along at all well with this sons. His son, also named George, strongly disagreed with the way his father treated his mother. This was the beginning of their dislike for each other. This became tradition with the House of Hanover kings, which continued from one generation to the next.

• South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of fishing) was a for profit company that was formed to manage the national debt and turn a profit for its shareholders.

• The “south seas” did not refer to the southern Pacific Ocean as it does today. It referred to South America and the Atlantic Ocean islands in that were around it. Since the South Sea Company was given a monopoly in the trade in that area, many British nobles and other wealthy people thought that it would prosper. The trouble was most of the land was part of the Spanish Empire, and the potential profits were not all that great.

• When the “South Sea Bubble” burst, the investors lost all they had in the company. Those losers included many nobles and wealthy people. The fallout was that many leaders in Parliament lost their seats and their influence.

• One leader who got out in time was Robert Walpole. He filled the vacuum created by the financial ruin of his peers and the disinterest the king had in domestic British affairs and became the first Prime Minister. It represented a major shift in power from the monarchy to Parliament, and major shift in British political history.

• Walpole was a great public speaker, a master politician who knew the art of compromise and an unpretentious style. His nickname was “The fat old squire of Norfolk.”

• George I died during a stay in Hanover. His body was not brought back to England, and he was buried there, which probably reflected his preference.

• George I was not a popular king, but his reign was important because of the shift in power from the monarchy to Parliament.

asheland

I like these threads! I look forward to George II and III

jgenn

Wikipedia:

Coinage of the South Sea Company was minted in Britain in 1723, after the South Sea Company (SSC) discovered silver in (and shipped it back from) Indonesia in 1722.

Here's my crown

asheland

I have two pieces of London flatware from George I, no pictures unfortunately.

rwyarmch

"George was very much a military man. He was made an Imperial Field Marshal in 1707."

P.H. Muller medal commemorating the promotion of the future George I.

SaorAlba

And now finally we are getting into some regally patented that was made specifically for the American colonies and nowhere else and had the monarch's portrait. This is a tuppence coined in "Bath metal" or a lower grade of bronze by William Wood who owned the patent(contract) for manufacturing coins for Ireland and America. This specific coin is actually a pattern because of the pellets in the rose - this one has 24 instead of the usual 15.

messydesk

I have a "deep bench" of George I in my 1723 slot. Rosa Americana penny and two pence, Hibernia farthing, and shilling.

rwyarmch

German engraver Nicolaus Seelander traveled to England in 1714 with his design of a coronation medal for George I but to no avail. It was quite elaborate and heavy on symbolism. MI II 226/15.

This example is 131mm and 836gms in what appears to be lead.

SaorAlba

@messydesk Very nice Rosa's and Hibernians.