We were discussing this on the Discord server, and I thought I'd make a thread about it! Essentially, present any monarchs whose ageing you can track via their coins, medals or banknotes.
It'll most likely be monarchs who have reigned a long time; but anyway I present this as a first example, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (1900-46):
Vicky and Beth come to mind naturally, but I was also thinking of Danish Maggie. The portraits of her are god awful, but between the 70s to now, you can see the aging process.
Another that springs to mind was King Hussain of Jordan. His 3 portraits are quite nice. Abdullah II hasn’t seen any change in his portrait yet
typically this thread would be limited to monarchs who reigned long enough to have multiple portraits. Thailand’s King Bhumibol was the longest serving regent till his death, yet he never really aged if you believe his portraits on coins. Similarly, Emperor Hirohito and Akihito have been there for a long time, but in keeping with tradition, never had their portraits on clins
Oh there are so many, I can post a few examples after work.
The best ones possibly would be Alfonso XIII of Spain and Friedrich August I of saxony who had portraits from their childage till adultage (Friedrich till his old age, Alfonso got dethroned).
Some other good examples coming to my mind right now : Isabel II of Spain, Franz Josef I of Austria, Ludwig II of Bavaria, Louis XIII, and XIV, and XV of France...
Quote: "alfonz"The best ones possibly would be Alfonso XIII of Spain
Yes, I was thinking of him too! It's always better if we can get portraits of the monarch in childhood as well as adulthood. I'll let you post him later, but for now here's Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1890-1948) who came to the throne at the ripe old age of ten:
In 1897
In 1905
In 1925
In 1931
In 1948 (this is a 1970 commemorative but uses her last bust from 1948)
You may post Alfonso XIII aswell, I dont have the full set yet (just the 3rd - 6th portrait). But I have a comemorative token with an even older portrait of Wilhelmina (but it was minted some years after her death).
Here a few examples:
The well known Queen Elizabeth II ones:
Queen Margrethe II of Danmark
Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxemburg
King Leopold II of Belgium
King Hussein of Jordania
King Mihai of Romania
King Gustav V of Sweden
King Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunai (he got a new portrait a few years ago and I dont have it yet)
King George I of Greece
Another very nice example would be King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, I wish I had some more coins of his rule.
James VI came to the throne of Scotland at a very young age and there are a wide variety of portraits on his Scottish coinage
2nd Coinage - £20 Piece - c.8 years old
3rd Coinage - Ducat - c.14 years old
4th Coinage - 30 Shillings - c.15 years old
6th Coinage - 80 Shillings (Hat Piece) - c.25 years old
7th Coinage - 5 Shillings - c.26 years old
9th & 10th Coinages (obverse only) - Unit (£12) - c.35 years old
There are fewer coins bearing Mary Queen of Scots image, but they range from all throughout her reign.
1547 penny -c.4 years old
Mary's earliest appearance and the first coin minted in the British isles to bear a somewhat realistic female portrait. A coin very similar to this was issued in 1554, with a slightly older image
1553 Testoon - c.11 years old
1555-58 £3 - c.13 years old
1558 Marriage Ducat - c.15 years old - depicted alongside the French Dauphin. interestingly the only coin to bear the image of Francis II of France, albeit before his accession.
1561-62 Testoon - c.19 years old
1565 Ryal - c.23 years old - Mary's last appearance on her coinage. This coin was extremely controversial at the time as it placed her husband's name before hers. The issue was quickly recalled and melted down. It was done so thoroughly that there are now only 2 known specimens in existence. They are in the National Museum of Scotland and the British Museum. Here is the BM specimen: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1339157001&objectid=895669
A comparatively similar marriage medal was also issued.
Quote: "alfonz"You may post Alfonso XIII aswell, I dont have the full set yet (just the 3rd - 6th portrait). But I have a comemorative token with an even older portrait of Wilhelmina (but it was minted some years after her death).
Okay, here comes Alfonso XIII (1886-1931)! We see him as a baby on his first coins because his father and predecessor Alfonso XII died in 1885, before he was born- so he was literally king from birth.
Franz Josef 1, Austria 1857 - 1912. 
