The story that I got with this set is that every monday the queen would hand out so many of these sets to friends and other people... anyone ever heard this?? or seen anything like this?

Maundy money. Just once a year. But someone will know the whole story.

Isn't that a Maundy set? The reverse should be 1, 2, 3, and 4. The king or queen distribute such sets to the poor each year as part of the religious ceremony called Maundy Thursday before Easter.

You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_money

These are Maundy money, not Monday They are actually given out on Maundy Thursday, before Easter. The monarch used to wash the feet of the poor, now she just gives them a purse with this money, and a set of this money in the case. Most are then sold by the recipients, as they now can get about £175 or so for them. I have a 1903 set that was handed out during the reign of EVII, and my wife has a 1901 Victoria set on her charm bracelet.

Gotta love Wikipedia!

I love Maundy sets. I only have one - a 1900 set - but I've been looking for others. Yours is an early set, it appears. Nice

Indeed! Follow the links back on MAUNDY THURSDAY to this:
"Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" (A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you) (John 13:34), in the teaching by which Jesus drew out for the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.

Maundy < Mandantum

And, speaking of "John" it was the supposedly evil King John who probably began the practice. We give poor King John a hard time, mostly because of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe and its portrayal of Richard Lionheart. Richard, in fact, went galavanting off to the Levant, got himself captured in Austria, and cost the realm a huge ransom. Meanwhile, John ruled. John did the hard work. I also have a fictionalized biography of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Ayn Rand's pirate Ragnar Danneskjold said that he wanted to lay Robin Hood to rest. I concur.

I'm just starting to get into British coins.Its amazing to me that you can get individual Maundy coins from the 1600's at reasonable prices.