Charles II was the eldest surviving son of Charles I, who frequently quarrelled with the Parliament and ultimately provoked the English Civil War. Charles II was proclaimed king by the Parliament of Scotland in 1649 following the execution of his father, while England became a republic and entered the Commonwealth period under the leadership of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. He was then defeated by Cromwell in 1651 and fled to mainland Europe. The death of Cromwell in 1658 had led to divisions in the Parliament as his son and successor Richard was inexperienced and had no control over the Army. Subsequently, Charles II was invited back to England in 1660 and as a result, the Stuart monarchy was restored in England, Scotland and Ireland. It was during Charles II’s reign when the minting of coins transitioned from hand-hammered to machine-struck. The mechanised process ensured a much higher production rate of coins, in higher quality and uniformity. The new machinery also allowed the addition of security features, such as milling and edge lettering, that prevents forgery and clipping.
Anne was the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1702 to 1714 AD. Her reign saw the unification of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain under the Acts of Union in 1707, making Anne the first sovereign of the United Kingdom. Her personal life was marked by tragedies – she endured 17 pregnancies but most were still births and miscarriages. Amongst the five live births, only one child survived infancy, yet he died at the age of 11. Without a surviving heir, Anne was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Following her death in 1714, Georg Ludwig, who was of German origin, inherited the British crown as King George I, beginning the Hanoverian Dynasty.
