Silver Penny of King John Fine-Very Fine

King John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He is remembered for disastrous and expensive wars with France and his greedy and tyrannical reign which resulted in a rebellion by the church leaders and barons of the day who resented the ever-increasing taxes to fund these wars. In June 1215, the barons and church leaders marched on London in an attempt to force the King to agree to their demands. The King tried to gather support but almost all of his followers deserted him and he was forced to meet with the leaders at Runnymede, a meadow on the south bank of the River Thames, near Windsor, where he reluctantly affixed his seal to the Magna Carta, which means “Great Charter” in Latin. Amongst other things, the document limited the King’s power and forced him to follow the law and not just rule as he wished. As significant as it was to the people of the day, it has proved to be even more important to subsequent generations and has become the foundation for many of the civil rights and liberties that we enjoy today, and which are now part of English law.