Isaac Newton in a 1702 portrait by Godfrey Kneller

Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Royal Mint (1699-1727)

Introduction: Sir Isaac Newton is, perhaps, best known as an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution.   His book “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”, first published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics Newton made…

William & Mary, halfpenny, 1692, (S6597) Edge flaw, good very fine and scarce

O’Brien Coin Guide: Irish ‘Regal Halfpennies’ of William & Mary

In 1660, the crown prince (later James II) married Anne Hyde, daughter of Charles II’s chief minister and they had two surviving children, Mary and Anne (both raised as Protestants) but in 1669, Prince James converted to Catholicism and took a stand against a number of anti-Catholic moves, including the Test Act of 1673. This…