The Scandalous Life of Rufus, a.k.a. King William II of England

BillJones · July 13, 2017 9:54AM

_I am mostly known as U.S. coin, token and medal collector, but I do have a “dark side” which I will introduce you to here. I have been building a collection of British coins which contains at least one piece for each British king, that is collectable, from Edward the Confessor to Queen Elizabeth II. I am within one king of completing that goal. Here is my first entry into this interesting area of numismatics. I hope that you will enjoy it. _

Yesterday I was overjoyed to find a coin that I thought I had lost months ago, an English penny issued by King William II, who better known as “Rufus.” William II was the favorite son of William I who is better known William the Conqueror. William the Conqueror was the French Norman who defeated the last Saxon king, Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was the genesis for the British royal family that has held the crown to the present day. If Queen Elizabeth could compare her DNA with William the Conqueror there would be a genic link between them.

Here is a penny of William the Conqueror. William’s coins are not that rare, but he is very popular. They generally sell in the $800 to $1,000 range. William I ruled England from 1066 to 1087.

As William the Conqueror was approaching the end of his life, he divided his estate among his three surviving sons. William made Robert the Duke of Normandy; he appointed William to be the King of England; and William left his third son, Henry, a large sum of money.

William II or “Rufus” was talented knight who was much admired by his men, but his nobility mostly ended there. He was noted for his talents at medieval swearing and especially disliked the church. His blasphemous pronouncements toward the church and diversion of church funds to his private use, made him an easy target for clerical scorn. He had a bright red complexion which became even redder when he was angry or drank too much which was a fairly frequent occurrence.

His personal lifestyle was especially concerning to those who were concerned with the moral and spiritual realm. Rufus was gay, and he was the only British king who never married. In his court, it was customary for young men “to mince their gait and walk with loose gestures while half naked.” His debaucheries were described as “hateful to God and men.”

Rufus enjoyed hunting, and on August 2, 1100, Rufus set out with a hunting party to shoot deer with bows and arrows. Included in the group was a Frenchman who was especially noted for his prowess with the bow. In a tragic “accident” this Frenchmen shot Rufus in the heart “mistaking” him for a deer. The Frenchman immediately hightailed it back to France, never to set foot on English soil again.

Rufus’ younger brother, Henry, set out for London before his sibling’s body was cold to claim the royal treasury and the crown. Henry I would be a good king. He was noted for his intellectual and diplomatic abilities despite the scandalous beginning to his reign. Henry did have a wild side, however. During his lifetime, he fathered at least 21 illegitimate children.

During this period, the British only issued silver pennies. All of the coins were struck with a pair of dies and a large hammer. The milled coinage was hundreds of years in the future. Starting with Rufus the quality of the English coins fell to a low ebb. It would not improve until Henry II came to the throne in 1154.

Here is my William II penny. It is actually well preserved, but the die failed in the center leaving this piece with virtually no portrait. There are better ones out there, and I'd like to improve upon this one some day.

And here, without apologie,s is my Henry I penny. Every example of the coins that I have seen from this king have been wretched. This ground salvage example is easily identifiable, and I decided that it was better to spend $200 for this instead of over $1,000 for something that was not much better.