Scottish Coins & Tokens

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Scottish Jacobite & Earlier Medals

 

WSC-6929:  James Francis Edward Stuart / James III of Scotland Silver Touch Piece.  See the excellent “The Sovereign Remedy” by Noel Woolf (ISBN 0 901603 01 5) for everything you need to know about touchpieces and the Kings & Queens that personally handed them out.  The would-be James III of England or James VIII of Scotland was in exile in Italy immediately following his second unsuccessful invasion of Scotland in 1715.  It was while in exile in the Palazzo del Re, Rome (courtesy of the pope) that he had these silver touch pieces made for both his English and Scottish supporters.  This example is very much an Italian commission due to the IAC.III obverse legend, as opposed to the French commissioned English IAC 3 and Scottish IAC 8 reverse legends.  James gave them out in very tiny quantities during special Touching Ceremonies where, because he was in direct contact with God, he had the power to cure Scofula (TB).  Or so he believed.  This one is from a collection dating back to the 1880's – see tickets.  This image here, from an auction just last year, illustrates  just how rare these Scottish pieces are (and how bad the auction house was at estimating value!) - they were produced in such tiny quantities and very few survived.  Guaranteed to have been personally touched by James when he gave this out to a Scrofula sufferer at one of the ceremonies.  This is a piece of Scottish and English (but mainly Scottish!!) history.  £1,475

 

WSC-9057:  1697 Scottish Jacobite Medal – The Calm after the Storm.  Issued by the Stuarts, as part of a series, and likely intended for distribution in London to partisans of the Stuarts, so basically early propaganda pieces.  The son of James II was chosen in preference to his father, presumably to show succession and therefore legitimacy of the cause.  The heavy symbolism here tells us that the introduction of Prince James into the Jacobite cause will result in calmness after the storm, hence the rising sun over calm waters.  The fact this medal chooses to depict THE SON and not the current would-be king, James, is a clever way of showing that the line will continue; legitimacy of the Jacobites.  M.I. (ii)194/503.  A pleasing example.  £275

 

WSC-9058:  1697 Scottish Jacobite Medal – An Exploding Mine.  Issued by the Stuarts, as part of a series, and likely intended for distribution in London to partisans of the Stuarts, so basically early propaganda pieces.  The son of James II was chosen in preference to his father, presumably to show succession and therefore legitimacy of the cause.  The heavy symbolism here illustrates what would happen if the Stuart (Jacobite) cause were further suppressed: a mine may be said to explode with a violence proportionate to the resistance by which it is compressed.  The fact this medal chooses to depict THE SON and not the current would-be king, James, is a clever way of showing that the line will continue; legitimacy of the Jacobites.  M.I. (ii)194/502.  A slightly rarer example.  £265

 

WSC-7392:  1697 Scottish Jacobite Medal – The Treaty of Ryswick.  Issued by the Stuarts, as part of a series, and likely intended for distribution in London to partisans of the Stuarts, so basically early propaganda pieces.  The son of James II was chosen in preference to his father, presumably to show succession and therefore legitimacy of the cause.  M.I. (ii)195/504 and listed as Rare.  Ex Bernard Paul collection, ex Spink.  £185

 

WSC-9123:  Scottish 1708 Jacobite Medal - Map of Great Britain.  Prince James, the Elder Pretender to the throne.  MI ( ii) 313/134, by Norbert Roettier in AE metal.  An interesting medal depicting the British Isles surrounded by ships at sea.  The obverse legend reads literally "Whose is this?", meaning "Whose image is this?" and amplified out to something like "Whose image is this?  The King's.  Render then to the King these Islands, which are his."  Struck in 1708 around the time of the Union and distributed among the partisans of the exiled royal family, the medal sought to build upon the unpopularity of said Union.  As ever, France was on hand to do anything to upset the British - they are her ships surrounding the British Isles.  Interestingly, although struck in 1708, they were used politically again in reasonably high numbers by being distributed at 1711 and 1714 events.  Obviously a design that the Jacobites thought highly of and indeed, the reverse was a stroke of genius in terms of its eye-catching, instantaneously understood message.  Toed with some original lustre and EF in grade.  Rare thus.  £495

 

WSC-9047:  1719 Large Silver Scottish Jacobite Medal - Old Pretender.  The Princess Clementina Sobieski, grand-daughter of John Sobieski, King of Poland, was betrothed to Prince James Stuart (the Old Pretender).  George 1st of England was opposed to this union - in as much as such a marriage would add weight to the Jacobite cause - and heavily leant on the king who, not wishing to offend the great European power house of the United Kingdom (those were the days!), literally had his own grand-daughter arrested by the emperor, Charles VI, on her way to Italy where she was to be married.  She was confined inside Innsbruck Castle.  Ultimately, the guards there were somehow deceived and Clementina escaped by a rapid and perilous flight to Bologna, where she was married to James by proxy.  This medal depicts that "rapid and perilous flight".  The legend on the medal reads (translated): "I follow his fortune and his cause", which is very Jacobite in tone and almost certainly not Clementina's words.  Old tickets here.  Medallic Illustrations (ii) 444/49 and Eimer 484.  Toned.  A rare medal - Eimer rated it at £750 in 2000 which is unbelievably twenty five years ago now.  £895

 

WSC-7688:  1731 Scottish Jacobite Medal – Bonnie Prince Charlie.  A large medal (crown sized) in base metal showing “The Legitimacy of the Jacobite Succession”, through the children of James III: Charles the Young Pretender and Prince Henry.  From a very old collection; Hugo Harpur-Crew of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire.  The Harpurs were Baronets.  I am unable to ascertain if the Harpurs had any links to the Jacobite cause.  A silver example of this medal sold for over £1,000 after commissions.  Eimer 521.  An interesting medal.  £345

 

WSC-9122:  1736 High Grade and Very Rare Scottish Jacobite AE Medal - The Two Princes, Charles and Henry.  A large medal likely struck on the occasion of both the brothers' completion of their Grand Tour and on the seventeenth birthday of "Bonnie Prince Charlie", although the canny Jacobites, ever media savvy, were simply keeping the cause in the public attention so literally any reason to issue a medal would suffice.  Charles is given the tag line: "At least permit this youth to repair the ruins of an age"; a propaganda-spun way of saying that even though his father had failed - his father being in no way the perpetrator of these "ruins of an age", that being very much down to the crown - "Prince" Charles deserved a go at the throne himself.  Henry, being third in the Jacobean line of succession, is given the line: "The third hope of a triple nation".  Of particular interest is the die signature - Romulus, Remus & the she-wolf, being from Otto Hamerani of Rome.  See old information slip here.  Medallic Illustrations (ii) 493/35 (listed Rare), Wolf 47.1, Cochran-Patrick, Scot. Med., Plate xiii, 6.  Virtually uncirculated with just a couple of contact marks.  Only the second example to come up for sale in the previous two decades.  Choice.  £845

 

WSC-9124:  1745 Rare Scottish Jacobite SILVER Medal - Bonnie Prince Charlie.  The Young Pretender as Prince of Wales in waiting.  Struck in England by Thomas Pingo, when Charles had resolved to make an attempt to "recover" the British throne.  It was circulated both in England and Scotland late 1737 (and, bizarrely, in 1748 it was issued in France, where it went down like a lead balloon), to loyalists of the cause to both garner support and to announce the decision.  Medallic Illustrations (ii) 600/252 (listed Rare), Wolf 59.2, Eimer 595b.  A rare medal.  £685

 

WSC-9203:  1745 Rare Scottish Jacobite SILVER Medal - Bonnie Prince Charlie.  The Young Pretender as Prince of Wales in waiting.  Struck in England by Thomas Pingo (although the accompanying ticket suggests C.N. Roettier as an alternative), when Charles had resolved to make an attempt to "recover" the British throne.  It was circulated both in England and Scotland late 1737 (and, bizarrely, in 1748 it was issued in France, where it went down like a lead balloon), to loyalists of the cause to both garner support and to announce the decision.  Medallic Illustrations (ii) 600/251 (listed Rare), Wolf 59.2, Eimer 595a.  A rare medal.  £495

 

WSC-9204:  1745 Rare Jacobite SILVER Medal - The Defeat of the Jacobite army at Carlisle.  The Duke of Cumberland on horseback, view of Carlisle in the background, the rebels indecorously "repulsed" from Carlisle.  Reverse: the Duke, very much imitating a Roman warrior, trampling on a fallen rebel, approaching Anglia.  M.I.(ii) 606/264 where it is listed as Rare.  £495

 

 

 

Jacobite Touchpieces - Guaranteed to have been Touched by the Monarch

 

WSC-9038:  Scottish James III Jacobite Touch-Piece which is Guaranteed Touched by James.  James Francis Edward Stuart.  Circa 1720's.  This silver touchpiece would have been personally touched by the would-be James VIII and given out to a sufferer of Scrofula, or modern day tuberculosis.  This "Touching Ceremony" goes way back.  It was basically the monarch of the day saying that as God had put him on the throne, he (the monarch) was a conduit of God, thereby when the monarch personally touched the touchpiece and gave it to the sufferer, God himself had also touched it, thus a rapid cure of Scrofula was all but certain.  Some cynics might claim that this was nothing more than a massive self-promotion on the monarch's part?  However, it was hugely popular and near universally accepted as having value throughout the land, even though I suspect the difference it made to sufferers of TB was as close to nothing as you can get.   James Francis Edward Stuart, ever keen to promote his right by God to be monarch, would have been a fool to not perform the Touching Ceremony, and indeed he embraced it for all he was worth whilst in exile in Italy. 

When the exiled  King James VII and II  died in 1701, his son James Francis Edward Stuart took up the reins of the  Jacobite cause. He laid claim to the thrones of Scotland, England and Ireland as James VIII and III. But to his opponents he was the ‘Pretender’.  Smuggled out of England as a baby when his father was deposed, James ‘VIII’ was raised in France. In 1708, supported by the King of France, Louis XIV, James attempted to invade  Scotland,  but was unable to land.  James himself finally landed in Scotland in December 1715, but he was not able to revive Jacobite fortunes and left for exile again with some of his leading supporters. In 1719 another Jacobite rising, this time supported by Spain, was defeated at the Battle of Glenshiel, in the Northwest Highlands.  James remained in exile for the rest of his life, dying in Rome in 1766. There he was the head of a royal court, with queen and two heirs. His ‘reign’ as Pretender to the throne had lasted just over 64 years. 

Only ever struck in silver, and made with holes already in place in order that recipients should wear them on a chain around their necks, firmly touching the bare skin at all times, these Jacobite touchpieces are considerably rarer than the English gold examples - this being only the second example I have ever had.  See here for a detailed write up of this touchpiece.  Although four or five orders were placed and received for James VIII touchpieces, only x22 pieces are extant today.  This one is type Obv.1 / Rev.1 - see THE SOVEREIGN REMEDY by Noel Woolf, a thoroughly excellent book with much information on touchpieces throughout the ages.  A rare offering indeed.  £1,850

 

 

 

Hammered Gold & Silver Coinage

 

David 1st

 

WSC-8144:  David 1st Early Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Period D - a posthumous issue literally struck under the boy king Malcom IV's reign, 1153-65.  Right facing bust with angled sceptre to the right (a quick camera phone image inserted as the main image wasn't great); cross fleury with a pellet in each quarter with NO pellets being on stalks - occasionally you get two stalks, sometimes four.  Little legend extant but it would have been blundered (meaningless) anyway.  S.R. 5010.  David was the first Scottish king to issue coinage.  The main mints were initially in Carlisle, following the capture of Carlisle by the Scots in AD 1136 (Carlisle already had an established mint which had been operated by the English together with silver mines nearby) and Edinburgh but in the later Periods, B, C and D, mints were opened in Roxburgh, Berwick and Perth.  Under Prince Henry, who unfortunately died a year before his father, David 1st, mints also operated in Corbridge and Bamborough.  Period D coinage is likely to have been Roxburgh and Berwick.  This one short of flan.  Should you be fortunate enough to find another David 1st penny sale, it will almost certainly cost you more than this one!  Good coins are around the £10,000 mark now.  Old tickets here.  A rare issue, being the first ever Scottish king to issue coinage, appealing to both David 1st and Malcolm IV collectors alike.  £1,950

 

WSC-9225:  David 1st Hammered Silver Scottish Penny.  Period C - later civil war period until David's death so 1149 - 1153.  Right facing bust with legend commencing 8 o'clock: +DAV[IT REX].  Reverse: a thick cross fleury with x4 single pellets in the angles with no stalks.  +MEINA[RD ON A] - Meinard at St Andrews' mint.  S.R. 5007.  David was the first Scottish king to issue coinage.  The main mints were initially in Carlisle, following the capture of Carlisle by the Scots in AD 1136 (Carlisle already had an established mint which had been operated by the English together with silver mines nearby) and Edinburgh but in the later Periods, B, C and D, mints were opened in Roxburgh, Berwick, Perth and of course, the rare St Andrews' mint in Period C.  Under Prince Henry, who unfortunately died a year before his father, David 1st, mints also operated in Corbridge and Bamborough.  Should you be fortunate enough to find another David 1st penny sale, it will almost certainly cost you more than this one!  Good coins are around the £10,000 mark now and that's probably very conservative in today's frenetic market.  A rare issue, being the first ever Scottish king to issue coinage, and an extremely rare mint as well - there are no examples of any Period C coins in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow collection.  The Ashmolean Museum has three Period C coins: Berwick and Carlisle only.  The National Museum in Edinburgh holds several David 1st pennies but just like the above institutions, none from the St Andrews mint.  £1,950

Provenance:

Prom an old family collection, through decent. 

 

 

 

Prince Henry, Earl of Northumberland & Huntingdon

 

WSC-7916:  Scottish Prince Henry Hammered Silver Cut Halfpenny - Excessively Rare ERL Variety.  Period A so circa 1139 - mid 1140's.  Obverse: [hEN]RIC ERL - as Stephen's Watford B.M.C. 1 type but having the extremely rare legend variety.  I am unable to find any extant examples in any of the major collections I have reference books to (Scottish National, Hunterian, Glasgow, Ashmolen etc museums).  Reverse: [+EREBA]LD : ON : C[OLEB] which is the Corbridge mint.  S.R. 5011.  I haven't seen a Prince Henry offered for sale since the last (and only other) one I sold, which was a decade or two ago now.  A very rare offering indeed.  £1,675

 

WSC-9164:  Scottish Prince Henry Hammered Silver Penny - Excessively Rare Unique Variety.  Earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon.  Period B or C (this is how it's currently classified although there is a tentative Period B issue of Newcastle) so circa mid to late 1140's.  Obverse: +[NEN]CI C[ON] - translating to Count Henry; reverse: [+RIC]CA[RD O]N.CAR.  Moneyer Ricard at the Carlisle mint.  S.R.5012.  The Prince Henry coinage circulated alongside his father's during the lifetime of David 1st only - Henry died a year before his father.  This Period B or C issue is the most desirable type as it has a unique-for-the-period reverse cross fleury with no pellets or annulets in the angles - the similar reverses on David 1st, Malcolm IV and even the English Henry 1st cross fleury coins all used pellets or annulets in the angles.  The earlier Prince Henry Period A coins have a Cross Moline reverse (resembling Stephen B.M.C. i English pennies) and the later Period D coins have a reverse Cross Crosslet (resembling the English Henry II Tealby issues, even though these would not be struck until six years after Prince Henry's untimely death!  Period A was struck at Corbridge only, Period B or C was struck at Carlisle only and Period D (this issue even reads STIFENE REX for Stephen) was probably Banborough.  None of the relevant major institutional collections (Scottish National, Hunterian, Glasgow, Ashmolen etc) appear to have any Prince Henry coins in their collections.  This research paper, taken from the 2013 British Numismatic Journal, makes for quite interesting reading (copy & paste the link):  https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/2013_BNJ_83_6.pdf  The Henry 1st type xv penny overstruck with Prince Henry's name that Mattinson & Cherry refer to in the article is one that was sold through HistoryInCoins well over a decade ago now - I remember it caused quite a stir at the time!  It is interesting to note that on the coin for sale here, the obverse & reverse legends, whilst not retrograde, are actually made up of reversed letters.  You are lucky to get any legend at all with this issue - the S.R. plate coin is similar to this one on the reverse whilst the Coincraft plate coin has virtually no legends at all.  The total number of all Prince Henry coins extant is miniscule and of Period B or C, smaller still.  The majority of this issue is under Wilelm of Carlisle so this coin, unusually showing Ricard as moneyer, adds further still to the rarity.  Good metal, problem-free and excessively rare.  £7,950

Provenance:

Found Hexham (Northumberland) December 2024: catalogued by Dr Martin Allen for inclusion into the EMC / SCBI database

 

 

 

Malcolm IV

 

WSC-9014:  Malcolm IV Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Front facing bust of Malcolm, sceptre either side (the right sceptre more angled than the left and not as clear), type IIa, S.R. 5016.  Obverse: [MA]LCO[LM REX]; reverse: [HVGO ON ROCABVRG] - Hugo of Roxburgh.  All types have Hugo as moneyer and all are out of Roxburgh, although Berwick is a theoretical possibility as a further mint town.  The difficulty lies in only a single digit total population with some of those being cut quarters and cut halves.  Further, all Malcolm IV coins are poor (bar the one which is described below, and even that has a poor pair of legends), resulting in no coins having full (or even remotely full) obverse or reverse legends - these being pieced together using several different coins from the extant population.  Coincraft sum that up nicely here.  Type IIa (front facing bust, cross fleury with pellets - rarer still with the x4 accompanying stalks) is the rarest of all Malcolm IV pennies although it goes without saying that all Malcolm IV coins are excessively rare.  I've been looking to buy any type for the entire lifetime of this website (nearly 25 years now) as well as a good few years prior to that eventful day!  This is the very first (and only) example I've seen on the open market in all that time.  The National Museum of Scotland, which has a very impressive and in-depth coin collection, has no Malcolm IV examples in their collection - indeed, they gloss over the reign completely in their Sylloge (my edition is 1977) by going from David 1st / Earl Henry straight to William the Lion.  The Hunterian Museum of Glasgow, again possessing a very impressive and in-depth coin collection, has no examples in the collection.  The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which has a formidable Scottish coin collection, has but a single (but remarkable!) example - a left facing portrait (S.R. 5019) - which is the very best known example of all Malcolm IV coins and is illustrated on the excellent EMC database (EMC/SCBI NUMBER:1035.0014).  Of the remaining five coins on the EMC database, two are cut fractions whilst the other three are on a par with this coin - one of those three has recently come up for sale for £15,000 - see image here.  The Ashmolean example will not be the only one of those coins to be permanently locked away into a national / institutional collection.  Even if that is the only one locked away, it effectively leaves this coin as one of two or three best known examples available on the open market, assuming the other one or two ever come up for sale because as you know, coins of this desirability and rarity invariably get sourced straight into major collections long before they hit the open market.  Most people, when collecting Scottish coins by monarch, do as The National Museum of Scotland does - pretend Malcolm IV doesn't exist.  A rare opportunity to have a coin in your collection that virtually nobody else will, or realistically can have.  £12,750

 

 

 

William 1st

 

Early Issues: Crescent & Pellet coinage, circa 1174-95

 

WSC-8068:  William 1st, The Lion, Rare Early Scottish Hammered Silver Crescent & Pellet Penny.  Phase II Sterling, circa 1180-95.  Roxburgh mint.  Obv: bust left with wide crown, sceptre-head with cross pommée.  Rev: +RAVL [DE] RO[XE]B[VR] - Raul of Roxburgh: short cross pattée with crescents and pellets in angles.  S.R. 5025.  William gained the title "The Lion" not through any particular act of bravery but rather through changing the dragon on the arms of Scotland with a lion.  Prior to a chance discovery of a hoard of early Scottish coins in 1780 (the Dyke Hoard), this issue was completely unheard of, which I think really brings it home as to just how rare these coins actually are.  Contrary to what the ticket says, this is about as struck as it left the mint although in his exuberance, friend Raul hit the coin far too hard all those centuries ago which resulted in flat areas.  Uneven toning, a rather crude yet somehow appealing obverse die, but spectacularly sharp areas in both centre areas.   A very rare and desirable coin indeed.  £1,695

 

WSC-9125:  Choice William 1st Scottish Medieval Early Issue Penny.  Crescent & pellets hammered silver issue of 1174-95.  Roxburgh mint.  Obverse: + LE REI WILAM, exceptionally well struck but of perhaps more importance, being from an extremely well prepared die.  Collectors will be aware that this issue in particular, being "inspired" by the awful English Tealby issues of Henry II, is often so bad that you need to spend time slowly rotating the obverse to try and find any point of reference to indicate which way to orientate the coin!  Reverse: +RAVL DERLIG.  Type II (circa 1180-95), moneyer with no mint town, cross pommée sceptre head: S.2026.  Derling is now thought to have only struck coinage at Roxburgh for this late type II issue.  Excellent provenance - old tickets here.  This coin better than both S.R. plate coins and better than anything else for sale on the open market today.  A truly outstanding coin.  £1,850

Provenance:

ex Spink

ex DNW, December 2013

ex J. Sazama collection

ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

 

 

Short Cross & Stars “PHASE A” coinage, circa 1195-1205

 

WSC-9015:  William 1st, The Lion, Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Short cross & stars, rarer and earlier phase A, 1195 - 1205.  S.R. 5027.  RAVL:ON:ROCE - Roxburgh mint.  Good left facing bust of William, sceptre before, crown of pellets.  Reverse better.  William was the younger brother of Malcolm IV.  In December 1189, William met Richard Coeur de Lion (Richard 1st of England) and duly bought back Scottish independence from the English for 1,600,000 silver pennies.  Richard used the money to fund his Crusades in the Holy Land.  £395

 

WSC-7282:  William 1st “The Lion” Scottish Medieval Penny.  Short cross & stars coinage of 1195 – 1205.  S.R. 5027.  +RAVL ON ROCEB – rarer Roxburgh mint.   The Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles (#35 – Scottish coins in the Ashmolean & Hunterian Museums) lists only three examples from Roxburgh, none of which are in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow!  £285

 

WSC-7970:  William 1st Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Phase A, Short cross & stars coinage of 1195 – 1205.  S.R. 5027.  +hVE ON EDNEBVR – Edinburgh mint.   In the recent auction of the "Property of a Gentleman"  - a collection of Scottish coins, there was only a single Phase A represented in the entire sale.  The Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles (#35 – Scottish coins in the Ashmolean & Hunterian Museums) lists only two examples from Edinburgh, one in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, the other in the Ashmolean Museum.  It is generally assumed that the introduction of the Short Cross coinage dates from 1195 because of a reference in the contemporary Melrose Chronicle, although this is a full fifteen years after the changeover in England. Roxburgh was the most important mint at this period, with Raul responsible for more than half the entire production of Phase A.  Edinburgh is the rarest of the three Phase A mint towns with this mint and moneyer being but a fraction of the total output.  £485

 

WSC-8011:  William 1st, The Lion, Scottish Hammered Silver Voided Short Cross & Stars Penny.  Phase A Sterling, circa 1195-1205.  Roxburgh mint.  Obv: +LE REI  WILLAM, bust left.  Rev: +RAVL.ON.ROECBV, voided short cross with stars in angles.  S.R. 5027.  It is interesting to note that William gained the title "The Lion" not through any particular act of bravery but rather through changing the dragon on the arms of Scotland with a lion.  Easily VF with good toning although the planchet appears to have been buckled during the striking process, something we see quite often on early hammered coins, particularly the English short and voided long cross issues.  £495

Provenance:

Bought Seaby 1982

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

 

 

Short Cross & Stars “PHASE B” coinage, circa 1205-1230

 

WSC-7345:  William 1st “The Lion” Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Short Cross & Stars, Phase B coinage of 1205-1230.  S.R. 5029.  Obverse: the rarer LE REI WILAM obverse regnal reading; reverse: +hVE WALTER – jointly struck by the moneyers of the Edinburgh & Perth mints.  An excellent portrait piece, being just as good as the S.R. plate coin.  £425

 

WSC-8049:  William 1st “The Lion” Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Short Cross & Stars, Phase B coinage of 1205-1230.  S.R. 5029.  Obverse: the rarer LE REI W[ILA]M obverse regnal reading; reverse: +hVE WALT[E]R – jointly struck by the moneyers of the Edinburgh & Perth mints.  An excellent portrait piece, being just as good as the S.R. plate coin.  £395

 

WSC-9005:  William 1st THE LION Hammered Scottish Silver Medieval Penny.  Short cross & stars issue, Phase B, bust 1, circa 1205-30.  HVE WALTER reverse - those two moneyers working jointly out of Edinburgh and Perth.  This specific issue struck circa 1205-1214.  S.R. 5029.  Unusual obverse legend.  £295

Provenance:

ex Spink Circular 1974

ex Baldwins 2023

 

WSC-9127:  Scottish William 1st, The Lion, Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Short Cross & Stars, Phase B coinage of 1205-1230.  S.R. 5029.  Obverse: the rarer LE REI WILAM obverse regnal reading; reverse: +hVE WALTER – jointly struck by the moneyers of the Edinburgh & Perth mints.  An excellent portrait piece from child-like dies, but elevated by the attractive toning.  Very old ticket.  A handsome coin.  £395

Provenance:

ex Mike Vosper

 

 

 

Alexander II

 

WSC-8169:  Alexander II (2nd) Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Phase C (the Phase A on the tickets refers to the style under William 1st, S.R. 5027-8), circa 1230-34: coinage in the name of Alexander’s father, William the Lion: +: WILLELMVS REX.  For some reason, possibly because Alexander II was very busy with insurrections, invasions and intrigue throughout his reign, coinage retained William’s name for some twenty years, although the portraits were of Alexander II.  Joint moneyers working out of Roxburgh: AIMER & ADAM ON RO. 1.08g, 2h.  S.R. 5034.  Good F for this particular issue.  Rare coin.  £695

Provenance

Ex Spink

 

WSC-7650:  Alexander II (2nd) Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Phase C, circa 1230-34: coinage in the name of Alexander’s father, William the Lion: +: WILELMVS REX although this is the rare variety where the obverse legend is retrograde.  For some reason, possibly because Alexander II was very busy with insurrections, invasions and intrigue throughout his reign, coinage retained William’s name for some twenty years, although the portraits were Alexander II.  Joint moneyers working out of Roxburgh: PERIS ADAM DE ROCI. 1.16g, 3h.  Ashmolean 82, Burns 66c, S.R. 5034.  Near VF for this particular issue.  Rare coin.  £745

 

WSC-7759:  Alexander II (2nd) Scottish Hammered Silver Voided Short Cross Penny.  The first issue, Phase C, circa 1230-34: coinage in the name of Alexander’s father, William the Lion: +: WILELMVS REX.  For some reason, possibly because Alexander II was very busy with insurrections, invasions and intrigue throughout his reign, coinage retained William’s name for some twenty years, although the portraits were Alexander II.  Joint moneyers working out of Roxburgh: PERIS ADAM ON RO. 1.32g, 6h.  SCBI 35, Burns 67a, S.R. 5034.  Near VF for this particular issue.  Rare coin and a rarer still Burns’ variety.  £845

 

WSC-7966:  Rare Alexander II (2nd) in Alexander's name Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Short cross & stars, Phase D, circa 1235.  Roxburgh mint, left facing bust with sceptre, S.R. 5036.  Obverse: [A]LEXANDER RE[X]; reverse: PIER[ES] ON ROE.  The impressive EMC / SCBI database has no examples.  The Glasgow Hunterian Museum has no examples.  The Oxford Ashmolean Museum has two examples, neither of which are as good as this coin.  The National Museum of Edinburgh has two examples, only one of which is illustrated (presumed the better of the two - the non illustrated coin being retrograde on the obv), which is not as good as this coin.  An early 2024 DNW auction witnessed an Alexander II Phase C penny in William's name go through at just under £1,300 after commissions.  Alexander II Phase D, in Alexander's own name, is a much, much rarer coin.  Ex Alaister McCay (2015), ex Tomlinson collection, ex Silbury Coins (old tickets in chronological order here).  An exceptionally rare coin and one in better grade than any of the major collection examples that I have managed to locate.  £2,450

 

 

 

Alexander III

 

1st Issue Pennies

 

WSC-8012:  Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Voided Long Cross & Stars Penny.  First coinage, Sterling, circa 1250-80.  Aberdeen mint.  Obv: +ALEXAnDER REX, bust right.  Rev: +ALISAD'ON.AB, voided long cross with stars in angles.  The rarer type IIa - S.R. 5042.  A rare mint town.  nVF, uneven toning.  A very rare coin indeed, as evidenced by the Kirton ticket annotation top right.  £865

Provenance:

Nottinghamshire metal detecting find, 2004

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-7978:  Alexander III Early Scottish Hammered Silver First Coinage Penny.  Long cross & stars, ANDREW ON R - moneyer Andrews at the Roxburgh mint (knowing what to look for, the entire mint reading is just about discernable).  Type 3, S.R. 5043.  A common enough variety but it its favour, the rarer moneyer and obvious grade, particularly the portrait.  £485

 

WSC-9115:  Rare Scottish Alexander III type VII Hammered Silver Penny.  First coinage, 1250-80 but close to the very end of this period.  ANDREV:ON:R (Andrews) of Roxburgh.  S.R. 5047.  The entire reign was prosperous, even though Alexander succeeded his father at just seven years of age.  The reign was cut short when Alexander rode his horse off a cliff aged just 44 (the king, not the unfortunate horse).  A rare coin but possibly trumped by the grade.  This type VII is the first I've ever handled (along with the type VIII that I also have) in all the decades.  £445

 

WSC-9226:  Alexander III Hammered Silver Scottish Penny.  First coinage, long cross and stars, circa 1250-80.  WILL ON BER - Willem at the Berwick mint.  Type III, S.R.5043.  Attractive and desirable old golden cabinet toning and what is a very nice grade coin for type.  £495

Provenance:

From an old family collection, through decent. 

 

WSC-9227:  Alexander III Hammered Silver Scottish Penny.  First coinage, long cross and stars, circa 1250-80.  ALEX ON EDEN - Alexander at the Edinburgh mint - please note, the accompanying ticket is incorrectly attributed to the Aberdeen mint..  Type III, S.R.5043.  Attractive and desirable old golden cabinet toning and what is a very nice grade coin for type.  £495

Provenance:

From an old family collection, through decent. 

 

WSC-9228:  Alexander III Hammered Silver Scottish Penny.  First coinage, long cross and stars, circa 1250-80.  WILAM ON KING - Wilam at the Kinghorn mint.  Type IIIa, S.R.5043.  Attractive and desirable old golden cabinet toning, one of the rarest Scottish mints, and what is a very nice grade coin for type.  See here for a Kinghorn penny January 2026 auction result, and don't forget buyer's commission was on top of that price.  This coin looking like a steal at only £1,250

Provenance:

From an old family collection, through decent. 

 

WSC-9229:  Alexander III Hammered Silver Scottish Penny.  First coinage, long cross and stars, circa 1250-80.  WILAM ON RO - Wilam at the Roxborough mint.  Type III, S.R.5043.  Attractive and desirable old golden cabinet toning and what is a very nice grade coin for type.  £495

Provenance:

From an old family collection, through decent. 

 

 

 

2nd Coinage Pennies

 

WSC-7275:  Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Sterling class E with x20 points making this Edinburgh mint.  S.R. 5056.  Actually quite a rare little coin as there are extra pellets: one pellet in the second and two in the fourth reverse quarters together with a pellet separating ALEXAND with ER on the obverse.  The National Museum of Scotland  in Edinburgh has a single example in their collection.  If you’re looking for interesting varieties, look no further!  £95

 

WSC-8017:  Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Mullets Penny.  Second coinage, Sterling, circa 1280-6.  Perth mint.  Obv: +ALEXANDER DEI GRA, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long cross with x2 mullets of six and x2 mullets of seven points in angles.  This is a rare class E2 / late D1 mule.  S.R. 5056/5057.  A handsome coin.  £335

Provenance:

Ex A. Gillis (May 2002)

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-8130:  Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Mullets Penny.  Second coinage, Sterling, circa 1280-6.  Roxburgh mint.  Obv: +ALEXANDER DEI GRA, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long cross with x3 mullets of six and x1 mullets of five points in angles.  This is a rare class E1 / M mule.  Old tickets here.  S.R. 5055/5056.  Deeply toned.  £285

Provenance:

Ex A. Gillis (May 2004)

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-8131:  Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Mullets Penny.  Second coinage, Sterling, circa 1280-6.  Roxburgh mint.  Obv: +ALEXANDER DEI GRA, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long cross with x3 mullets of six and x1 mullets of five points in angles.  This is a rarer Mc2 class.  Old tickets here.  S.R. 5055/5056.  Deeply toned.  £285

Provenance:

Ex Steve Blencoe (2008)

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-9006:  Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Medieval Penny.  Second coinage, x26 points to the mullets so Perth mint.  This is an unusual mule of a later class D2 obverse and an earlier E2 reverse - S.R. 5057 / 5056.  There is evidence of wear & tear to the crown punch but much more interesting is that the reverse is modified from a standard x24 point die.  Old tickets here.  A very nice grade coin but even more unusual (and much rarer) in its origins!  Possibly unique.  £445

Provenance:

ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-9162:  Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  Second coinage, 1280-86.  Scarce subclass E2.  Twenty points to the reverse stars with (unusually) no extra reverse pellets.  Rarer Aberdeen mint.  S.R.5056.  A lovely coin made all the more desirable with the rarer subclass.  Traditionally, Aberdeen has been identified as having x23 reverse points but R.W. Kirton gives this x20 point reverse to Aberdeen.  £385

Provenance:

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage), purchased 1982

Ex Nigel Mills

 

 

2nd Coinage FARTHINGS

 

WSC-9263:  Choice Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver FARTHING.  Second coinage of 1280-86.  This farthing was the first to be seen in Scotland.  Four mullets, each of x6 points, as per the penny, but with a reverse legend reading an abbreviated :SCOTORVM.  S.R.5063.  It is interesting to note that the halfpenny, obviously lying in between the penny and farthing in value, differentiated itself by only having two mullets, each of x6 points.  Actually a jolly good idea but it put the pressure on the die sinkers to create a coin so small but having virtually the same legends as the penny, bar just three letters.  The obverse is a similar story - a reading of ALEXANDER REX as opposed to ALEXANDER DEI GRA on the penny so again, we're only talking about losing three letters and one of those is an I, so would take up minimal space.  Incidentally, there is a variety of farthing having the full penny obverse legend, although I've never seen one.  Some of the early contemporary Edward 1st English farthings have dies as accomplished as those on this coin so I suspect there was some sort of collaboration either side of the border in terms of personnel. 

The reign of Alexander III was notable for three major events. Firstly he was to succeed where his father, Alexander II, had failed in ridding the Western Isles of Scotland of Norse influence. Secondly, he was to make one Scottish family - the MacDonald clan - so powerful that they would be a rival to the future kings of Scotland in influence. Thirdly, dying with no heir was to plunge Scotland into a succession crisis that would ultimately lead to war with England.  It was an unfortunate death - he rode his horse over a cliff in the dark - and an inopportune death in that his wife, who was pregnant with the heir to the throne at the time of Alexander's death, gave birth to a still-born child.  After those tragic events came John Baliol, Robert the Bruce and the English ... and the rest is history.

Alexander III farthings are seldom encountered but here, we have one that is full flan, perfectly centred obv & rev, full and clear legends, strong portrait and beautifully toned.  Clearly choice and easily the best example I've seen, and by quite some margin.  £995

 

 

 

John Baliol

 

Pennies

 

WSC-9093:  John Baliol Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars Penny.  Second coinage, smooth surface issue, circa 1292-6.  Berwick mint.  Obv: +IOhANNES DEI GRA, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORAA, long cross with x4 mullets or stars of six points in angles.  S.R. 5071. John Baliol was “chosen” out of thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne upon the death of Alexander III.  The English king, Edward I, was the arbitrator.  John Baliol’s four year reign ended in 1296 with his abdication when Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Roxburgh and Stirling all fell to the English.  Unlike the first issue John Baliol pennies, very few specimens of this coinage have been found recently with metal detectors.  Above average grade for issue.  £395

 

WSC-8018:  John Baliol Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Mullets Penny.  First coinage, rough surface issue, circa 1292-6.  Berwick mint.  Obv: +IOhANNES DEI GRA, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long cross with x4 mullets of six points in angles.  S.R. 5065.  John Baliol was “chosen” out of thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne upon the death of Alexander III.  The English king, Edward I, was the arbitrator.  John Baliol’s four year reign ended in 1296 with his abdication when Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Roxburgh and Stirling all fell to the English.  Various old tickets.  Rare.  £435

 

WSC-9128:  John Baliol Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars Penny.  First coinage, rough surface issue, circa 1292-6.  Berwick mint.  Obv: +IOhANNES DEI GR, bust left.  Rev: +REX SCOTORVM, long cross with x4 mullets of six points in angles.  S.R. 5065.  John Baliol was “chosen” out of thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne upon the death of Alexander III.  The English king, Edward I, was the arbitrator.  John Baliol’s four year reign ended in 1296 with his abdication when Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Roxburgh and Stirling all fell to the English.  Tim Owen ticket.  Rare.  £435

Provenance:

ex Tim Owen

 

 

Halfpennies

 

WSC-9129:  John Baliol Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars HALFPENNY.  Second coinage, smooth surface issue, circa 1292-6.  Berwick mint.  +[REX SC]OTORAA, long cross with x2 mullets or stars of six points in angles.  S.R. 5074. John Baliol was “chosen” out of thirteen competitors for the Scottish throne upon the death of Alexander III.  The English king, Edward I, was the arbitrator.  John Baliol’s four year reign ended in 1296 with his abdication when Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Roxburgh and Stirling all fell to the English.  A hard denomination to find.  £595

 

 

 

Robert “The Bruce” 1st

 

Pennies

 

WSC-7619:  Robert The Bruce Hammered Silver Medieval Penny.  Robert 1st, 1306-29.  Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +:ROBERTVS: DEI: GRA:, rev. long cross pattée, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR Vm R EX, weight 1.35g (Burns 1, figure 225; S.R. 5076).  One of two star coins in the 2009 Drayton Hoard (the other was also a Robert Bruce that was sold through HistoryInCoins 9-6-22 for £2,200) – over a kilo of predominantly English medieval pennies.  The hoard was likely deposited in 1353; the last issue to be found in the hoard was an Edward III pre treaty York penny.  Only 34 coins out of the many thousands were Scottish.  The British Museum undertook a cursory examination and cleanup of the hoard but were unable to devote the necessary resources and time for a full study.  The coins were thereby returned to the finder under the Treasure Act where they were later sold.  A direct descendant of David 1st, Robert Bruce was crowned in 1306, on the back of ten turbulent years with various armies moving backwards and forwards over Scotland.  In 1318, Bruce’s reign saw the gradual repossession of the kingdom, partly from the English and partly from Scottish rivals.  It is likely that no coinage was struck for Robert Bruce until 1320.  Only three recorded dies, this one being Burns 1.   All Robert Bruce coinage is very rare but interestingly, although his coinage basically copied that of Alexander III, whereas Alexander’s coinage is often found VF or better, Robert Bruce’s coinage (on the rare occasions you do actually see an example) invariably turns up worn or damaged / pierced.  There have actually been a couple of Bruce pennies go through auction early 2024, both of which have achieved eye-watering prices at auction.  Indeed, the Davisson Robert Bruce penny (lot 225, March 2024) sold at $5,000 hammer price.  Look them up to see. The all important provenance makes this coin extremely significant and desirable.  £2,850

 

WSC-8165:  Robert The Bruce Hammered Silver Medieval Penny.  Robert 1st, 1306-29.  Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +:ROBERTVS: DEI: GRA:, rev. long cross pattée, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR VMR EX, weight 1.33g (Burns 1, figure 225; S.R. 5076).  A direct descendant of David 1st, Robert Bruce was crowned in 1306, on the back of ten turbulent years with various armies moving backwards and forwards over Scotland.  In 1318, Bruce’s reign saw the gradual repossession of the kingdom, partly from the English and partly from Scottish rivals.  It is likely that no coinage was struck for Robert Bruce until 1320.  Only three recorded dies, this one being Burns 1.   All Robert Bruce coinage is very rare but interestingly, although his coinage basically copied that of Alexander III, whereas Alexander’s coinage is often found VF or better, Robert Bruce’s coinage (on the rare occasions you do actually see an example) invariably turns up worn or damaged / pierced.  There have actually been a couple of Bruce pennies go through auction early 2024, both of which have achieved eye-watering prices at auction.  Indeed, the Davisson Robert Bruce penny (lot 225, March 2024) sold at $5,000 hammer price.  Look them up to see. About VF grade with a patchy dark toning (which could easily be much improved if so desired) as opposed to the slight porosity stated on the old ticket.  £2,850

 

 

 

David II

 

Groats

 

WSC-9264:  Rare Mint David II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.  Second coinage, 1357-67.  A small, young bust.  Class A5/B mule,  VILLA ABERDOn - Aberdeen mint.  S.R.5103.  Edinburgh was by far the main mint with literally just a trickle of coinage emanating from the provincial Aberdeen mint.  This reverse Aberdeen mint die (note the ornate letter A's) is the only die used in that output, along with the obverse die.  That obverse die was used so sparingly at Aberdeen that when the provincial mint had struck the miniscule amount it was charged to supply, the die was literally returned to Edinburgh where it continued to be used for Edinburgh mint coinage.  We can only assume that the reverse Aberdeen mint was also far from at the end of its life when minting ceased.  If we take the extremely well respected Brown, Comber and Wilkinson research on Elizabeth 1st sixpence dies (they looked at single die coins across the board and calculated a present day 4 - 10 coin survival rate per die), that miniscule survival rate is actually reduced further in this scenario because the Aberdeen obverse die did not only survive the entirety of the Aberdeen output, but then went on to form a significant part of the subsequent Edinburgh output as well, before coming to the end of its working life further down the line.  Obviously Elizabeth 1st sixpences and David II groats are not like-for-like but being very similar in size, it's still a very good indicator as to current day rarity: an illustration as to the infinitesimally small output of Aberdeen groats compared to Edinburgh groats under David II and thus their absolute rarity, both then and more-so now.

Full flan, well centred, much above average grade for the usual David II groats you see (often flat strikes with blurry detail, and rarely full flan).  Also, very nicely toned and with excellent provenance.  An important coin.  £2,225

Provenance:

ex Spink Numismatic Circular 1988 (2184), purchased by...

ex R. Carlyon-Britton collection, dispersed...

DNW Auction 142, lot 1345, Sept. 2017 (£1,300 hammer - £1,690 after buyer commission), purchased by...

ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

 

Pennies

 

WSC-7490:  David II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  Second coinage, 1351-7, Edinburgh mint.  S.R. 5088.  Nice grade coin.  £275

 

 

 

Robert II

 

Groats

 

WSC-9171:  Robert II Scottish Hammered Silver VERY RARE MINT Groat.  Crowned bust, left with a star at the foot of the sceptre.  The letter B behind the head is for the moneyer Bonagius, a particularly sought-after feature as Bonagius did not act as moneyer for all the Dundee coinage.  Further, this is a very clear B which makes the coin even more desirable.  VILLA DVnDE - the extremely rare Dundee mint.  S.R.5135 - it is interesting to note that Sovereign Rarities couldn't even source an example to use as a plate coin.  Miniscule numbers were struck at Dundee as compared to Edinburgh and Perth.  Robert II was first Scottish king of the Stewart line.  His grandfather was Robert the Bruce; his mother, Marjorie Bruce, being Robert Bruce's daughter.  Robert was Regent under the imprisoned David II and was himself later imprisoned with his three sons in England when Edward III was recognised as successor to David II.  All Robert II coins are hard to source but Dundee mint coins are in a league of their own!  The AMR example, which sold in 2019 for £2,000, was perhaps on a par with this coin but the moneyer's initial B was far from clear.  An extremely rare and desirable coin.  £1,935

 

 

Pennies

 

WSC-8170:  Robert II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Penny.  1371-90, Perth mint.  S.R. 5150 with, perhaps unusually for this issue, no star or saltire on the sceptre handle.  Virtually as it came out of the mint - no clipping, minimal wear but a combination of indifferent, shallow dies coupled with a strike by the moneyer that he was unlikely to go home to his wife at the end of a hard day at the mint and be proud of, talking about it with her over the "neeps and tatties".  Nevertheless, a very nice coin.  Interesting fact: Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce.  Sold with an old Mike Vosper ticket.  £325

 

WSC-7935:  Robert II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  The first Scottish king of the Stewart line.  Edinburgh mint.  Crowned bust left, star on sceptre handle.  S.R. 5145.  Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce; his mother, Marjorie Bruce, being Robert Bruce's daughter.  Robert was Regent under the imprisoned David II and was himself later imprisoned with his three sons in England when Edward III was recognised as successor to David II.  All Robert II coins are hard to source.  £395

 

WSC-7944:  Robert II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny.  The first Scottish king of the Stewart line.  Edinburgh mint.  Crowned bust left, rarer no star on sceptre handle.  S.R. 5146.  Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce; his mother, Marjorie Bruce, being Robert Bruce's daughter.  Robert was Regent under the imprisoned David II and was himself later imprisoned with his three sons in England when Edward III was recognised as successor to David II.  All Robert II coins are hard to source.  £395

 

 

Halfpennies

 

WSC-9130:  Robert II Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars HALFPENNY.  Left facing bust of Robert with the reverse unusually showing x5 pointed mullets in all quarters unlike the previous x5 points in two quarters.  S.R. 5152.  The first Scottish king of the Stewart line.  Edinburgh mint.  Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce; his mother, Marjorie Bruce, being Robert Bruce's daughter.  Robert was Regent under the imprisoned David II and was himself later imprisoned with his three sons in England when Edward III was recognised as successor to David II.  All Robert II coins are hard to source, these minors particularly so.  £295

Provenance:

ex Mike Vosper

 

WSC-9163:  Robert II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver HALFPENNY.  Left facing bust of Robert with the reverse unusually showing x5 pointed mullets in all quarters unlike the previous x5 points in two quarters.  S.R. 5152.  The first Scottish king of the Stewart line.  Edinburgh mint.  Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce; his mother, Marjorie Bruce, being Robert Bruce's daughter.  Robert was Regent under the imprisoned David II and was himself later imprisoned with his three sons in England when Edward III was recognised as successor to David II.  All Robert II coins are hard to source, these minors particularly so.  £235

 

 

 

Robert III

 

GOLD

 

WAu-9100:  Robert III Hammered Gold Scottish Demi-Lion.  Heavy coinage, 1390-1403.  Second issue, circulated at 2s, 6d.  Obverse: crowned shield not in tressure, reverse: long saltire cross with lis and closed trefoils in angles.  S.R. 5158.  The accompanying ticket is misattributed:  The light coinage was 20 grains / 1.30 grams.  This coin is 24 grains / 1.56 grams.  It cannot be the light issue.  Saying that, the obverse legend: +ROBERTVS:DEI G REX SCOT (a particularly rare obverse die, more so with the reversed C in SCOT), is a late heavy issue type but the reverse legend, XPC REGNAT TX PE:VIN is very much an early light coinage type.  As such, this coin can't physically be a heavy-light coinage mule (could be a light-heavy coinage mule but the weight discounts that) so it's likely to be an extremely late transitional heavy coinage issue, utilizing the new dies destined for the light coinage, which were literally just around the corner.  Hitherto unrecorded to my knowledge.  Coincraft state, "Several of the issues are extremely rare or even unique but two, whilst rare, are obtainable".  This coin falls into the extremely rare or even unique category.  Effectively the first Scottish gold coinage (the trial David II noble was on a par with the English Edward 1st groat in terms of its popularity and longevity), based on the English half and quarter nobles.  This is only the second example of this denomination I've had from this monarch and it, along with virtually every illustration you'll find, was not as good as this coin.  Generally, the obverse dies seem to be particular prone to poor striking.  This coin not so - in fact the moneyer was particularly enthusiastic with this coin as the reverse cross is visible on the obverse, such was his vigour with the hammer!  Scottish gold rarely hits the open market.  Sovereign Rarities sold their S.R. 5157 Demi-Lion last year for £9,750.  If you look it up, theirs was apparently the joint second best recorded example.  The coin for sale here is as good as that one and don't forget, prices have moved on up since then.  A very rare offering in today's market - in any market!  £7,650

 

 

 

Groats

 

WSC-7980:  Choice Robert III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.  Heavy coinage of 1390 - 1403.  Initial mark Cross Pattée, Edinburgh mint, S.R. 5164.  Type 3a with crown 3, seven arcs to the tressure with trefoils in the cusps.  R.M. Kirton, who certainly knew his stuff, had this as Burns #4, figure 344 variety and "Very Rare".  Outstanding grade, being an par with the S.R. plate coin.  A tremendous coin with excellent provenance!  £775

Provenance:

ex Dr James Davidson collection

ex R.M. Kirton collection

Ex Bermondsey Coins (£750 ticket price)

 

WSC-9007:  Robert III Scottish Hammered Silver Stuart Groat.  Heavy coinage, Edinburgh mint.  Fluer-de-lis in legend so the rarer S.R. 5164A.  Type 3a with x7 arcs to the tressure and obverse triple vertical pellet stops.  Large V used on both obverse and reverse dies.  A really unusual variety, partially outlined in both ticket descriptions (see here), but further with both the small T over large T and the extremely strange looking O over normal O in SCOTORVM.  £445

Provenance:

ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

WSC-9169:  Choice Robert III Hammered Silver Medieval Scottish Groat.  Heavy coinage, 1390 - 1403, Edinburgh mint.  First issue with obverse colon stops and reverse saltire "colon-esque" legend terminals.  Seven arcs to tressure.  Tall bust.  S.R. 5164.  John, Earl of Carrick, eldest son of Robert II, changed his name to Robert on succeeding to the throne.  Being almost entirely disabled by an accident before his father's death, the country was effectively run by yet another Robert - Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the king's younger brother.  Just as in England, there was a severe shortage of silver being brought to the mint.  By no means a rare type coin but certainly very rare in this high grade: Scottish groats are generally cruder in style that their English counterparts but crucially, the coins rarely look attractive due to rather poorly engraved dies.  They didn't tend to suffer too much with clipping north of the border but are often found weekly struck and rather insipid in appearance, making them appear to be of a lower grade than they actually are.  Incidentally, this was the issue where the Scottish decided to ape the English style of coinage.  The old ticket has a £650 price on the reverse (just about discernable in the main image), illustrating just how good a coin this is.  Choice.  £595

Provenance:

ex Spink

 

WSC-9255:  Robert III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.  Heavy coinage of 1390 – 1403.  First issue with a rough, tall facing bust.  Edinburgh mint.  Fleur-de-Lis in reverse legend thus the rarer S.R. 5164A.  John, Earl of Carrick, eldest son of Robert II, changed his name to Robert on succeeding to the throne.  Being almost entirely disabled by an accident before his father's death, the country was effectively run by yet another Robert - Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the king's younger brother.  Just as in England, there was a severe shortage of silver being brought to the mint which was reflected in the dismally low mintage figures.  Quite a difficult coin to source in better grades.  £365 

Provenance:

ex Capozzolo collection... dispersed 2020

ex HistoryInCoins... sold to

ex John Williams' collection (purchased 2021)

 

 

 

Halfpennies

 

WSC-9236:  Robert III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver HALF Penny.  Light coinage, 1403-06, the debased (0.617) silver "pence" issue - the only issue under Robert III where pennies and halfpennies were struck.  Neat bust, large narrow crown, [RO]OB[ERTVS REX SCOT].  Reverse legend indistinct through deposits, but presumed Edinburgh (S.R.5187 - £650 VF in the latest price guide) although could be the rarer Perth mint.  The accompanying ticket states the grade to be fair, which is incorrect.  Looking with a good lens at the definition and deposits on this coin, with professional conservation (I recommend experts such as Nigel Mills or Mark Maillard - there are others), this coin will be close to VF or even better.  All the debased silver issues are rare (Coincraft states: "All three issues are very rare and crude in style and strike") but this second issue with a shorter neck is rarer still.  The National Museum in Edinburgh holds a plethora of Robert III groats, fewer halfgroats, x6 pennies and zero halfpennies of any mint.  The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford both hold similar quantities of groats, halfgroats and pennies.  The Hunterian holds the excessively rare "without mint name" halfpenny (S.R.5188A) together with only x2 others, both Perth.  The Ashmolean hold x1 Perth and x2 Edinburgh halfpennies.  Institutional coins will have been professionally conserved, unlike the coin for sale here, but with the exception of a remarkable Perth halfpenny held by the Hunterian Museum, this coin looks to be better than those scant few in terms of its outstanding bust.  In summary, a fairly ordinary, nondescript looking coin at first glance but, given its rarity and underlying grade once the coin has been conserved, an extremely rare and important Scottish medieval coin.  £485

 

 

 

James I

 

WAu-9195:  Scottish Medieval James 1st Hammered Gold Demy of 9 Shillings.  Initial mark Crown on the obverse, Cross Potent on the reverse.  Struck Edinburgh.  Class II with large reverse open centre quatrefoils - S.R.5190.  Lion rampant in a lozenge / saltire cross within tressure.  The term Demy (sometimes Demi) derives from the French for half because this coin was very much based on the English half noble.  That is perhaps surprising considering that when James' father died and he was supposed to ascend the throne, James was literally being held prisoner by the English, so much so that a Regency had to be formed under Robert, Duke of Albany (1406-1420) and then upon the Duke's death, his son, Murdock.  It would be 1424, nearly 20 years of captivity under the English, that he eventually took up his role as rightful monarch, but only then after a £40,000 (well over a million pound today) ransom was paid.  At virtually full weight, VF grade and being problem-free, this medieval Scottish gold coin is extremely desirable in today's frenetic market where individually, rarity and grade are king, but rarity and grade together...?!  The new Scottish & Irish Sovereign Rarity (ex Spink) price guide is currently being put together where coins in this league will surely leap forward in catalogue pricing because for at least a couple of decades they have been held back to well under actual market values.  A exceptional coin.  £6,975

 

WMH-8171:  James 1st Medieval Hammered Silver Round Halfpenny.  Front facing bust of rougher work; crown of three fleurs with large central fleur - a non regal, unofficial dies, contemporary counterfeit of the day example, based on the style and rather random lettering.  The Mike Vosper ticket had this as Scottish James 1st.  I've pondered and pondered over this little coin, going from James 1st halfpenny to the small James III pennies and back to the English Henry V coinage.  It could easily be Henry V of England (ie it was meant to pass as Henry V of England), as it's far from an accurate counterfeit of anything official.  What we have for sure is an obverse with a saltire and possible (very) broken annulet by the crown, a strong initial mark of either a Plain Cross or a Cross Pattée, and lettering that appears to start "I" but could just as easily be a lombardic "h" minus its bottom stroke.  The reverse is very English looking, however, James 1st of Scotland unusually adopted this very reverse with x3 pellets in each quarter.  The lettering is a lot more like London that the Edinburgh it has to be if it were to be James 1st.  But I think Mike Vosper is correct in his attribution of James 1st, although I think we'd both caveat that with "tentative".  There is no saltire or cross to be seen on the Henry V issues.  Henry VI used them but in combinations of cross-cross and saltire-saltire.  James 1st used then on the penny in conjunction with annulets (S.R. 5212) in the type C Edinburgh penny.  It's looking like the penny was perhaps the template for the counterfeiter's halfpenny?  Or maybe he intended this coin to pass as a penny but on a much reduced flan to save money?  Interestingly, the silver appears reasonably good whereas the official pence of this issue was billon.  An extremely interesting coin that has taken up way too much of my time, as well as something quite rare as I've never seen the like before.  £295

 

WSC-8146:  James 1st Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Groat.  First fleur-de-lis issue, 1406-37 but early on in that reign for this first issue.  Linlithgow mint - an extremely rare provincial Scottish mint.  Sceptre to the left - S.R. 5199.  The price of silver rose steadily throughout Europe during this period which caused problems with all of Europe’s coinage, not least Scotland’s.  Their solution was to issue billon “watered down” silver for the lower denominations and to increase the value of the groats (there were no halfgroats under James 1st) from fourpence to sixpence.   All the silver issues were poorly struck AND experienced considerable circulatory wear and damage because there simply wasn't enough coinage to go around - there was insufficient bullion at the mint to issue fresh coin and what coinage there was in circulation often found its way onto the continent (and thus the melting pot) as either a fourpence or sixpence coin here was worth much more in pure bullion content.  Provincial mints such as Linlithgow would be very much at the back of the queue in terms of receiving even tiny amounts of rare silver bullion.  Coincraft states: "All (groat) issues are rare, especially the ones from provincial mints.  Coins were often poorly struck and are rarely found in better than Fine condition." Old tickets here.  S.R. couldn't locate an example to use as a plate coin, even with all the leading collections they have access to.  Kirton himself, not a man you associate with any kind of over-egging, stated "Very Rare" on his ticket.  £2,375

Provenance:

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage), purchased 2014

 

WSC-9241:  Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver James 1st / James II Sixpenny Groat.  Second Fleur-de-Lis issue (c.1435-40), initial mark Cross Pattée, Edinburgh mint, S.R. 5200.  Lis on the neck with x2 saltires flanking.  An interesting issue on two counts: the bust is of rougher work, being almost child-like in composition and secondly, this issue ran from c.1435-40 so literally spanned both James 1st and II.  James 1st was murdered in February of 1437 - by all accounts he was a thoroughly unpleasant individual.  All the silver issues were poorly struck AND experienced considerable circulatory wear and damage because there simply wasn't enough coinage to go around - there was insufficient bullion at the mint to issue fresh coin and what coinage there was in circulation often found its way onto the continent (and thus the melting pot) as either a fourpence or sixpence coin here was worth much more in pure bullion content.  Provincial mints such as Linlithgow would be very much at the back of the queue in terms of receiving even tiny amounts of rare silver bullion.  Coincraft states: "All (groat) issues are rare, especially the ones from provincial mints.  Coins were often poorly struck and are rarely found in better than Fine condition."  Excellent provenance: marked as "Rare" - see old tickets here.  A desirable, rare coin.  £875

Provenance:

Purchased Spink, sold January 1986 to...

Ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

 

 

James II

 

WSC-8073:  James II Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.  Second coinage, second issue, type IIb.  Initial mark Crown, Edinburgh mint, no annulets to neck - S.R. 5233.  James II groats and halfgroats were designed to come into line with their English counterparts, at least that was the intention for the second coinage.  The Scottish did such a good job that the new groats did indeed look like English groats and were the same weight and had the same silver content as the English groats but unfortunately were valued at twelve pence in Scotland (there was an effort to carry out a revaluation of the groat from 12d to 8d but for whatever reason, this never happened), whereas the corresponding English groats were valued at four pence in England.  In a period where monarchs rarely ran the full course of their lives, James II met his maker in 1460 in one of the more unusual ways - during the siege of Roxburgh Castle, a canon next to the king accidentally blew up, terminating both cannon and king.  A rare coin indeed in high grade for issue.  Toned, full flan, VF for issue and with excellent provenance.  A coin with outstanding eye-appeal and from a monarch rarely seen on coinage these days.  £1,950

Provenance:

ex C. Blom collection (1966)

ex DNW

ex M. Lessen collection

ex R.M. Kirton collection

 

WSC-9008:  James II Scottish Hammered Silver Stuart Groat.  Circulated at six pence.  First coinage, Edinburgh mint.  Third (type IIIa) fluer-de-lis issue with tall, narrow crown - S.R. 5225.  Old tickets here.  R.W. Kirton states on his ticket that the crescent stop reverse of this coin is unpublished.  The other ticket highlights the apparent die flaw to the king's face as possibly being an attempt by the die sinker to highlight the large birthmark which is known to have disfigured the king's left side.  £895 RESERVED (J.W.24-11-25)

Provenance:

J & R Edmiston Auction, Glasgow, May 1976

ex R.A. Macpherson collection, September 2009

ex R.W. Kirton collection (an excellent numismatic researcher who amassed a comprehensive collection of Scottish coinage)

 

 

 

James III

 

Groat

 

WSC-7551:  James III Hammered Silver Scottish Groat.  Type VI, main issue of 1484-88.  Edinburgh mint.  S.R. 5288.  24mm, 3.83g.  Crowned aged 9, the Scots lost Berwick to keep the peace with England but gained Orkney and the Shetland Isles as a part dowry (which makes you wonder what the other part of the dowry was!) when James married Margaret of Denmark (she was just 13).  James III was so unpopular due to his lifestyle and blind insistence upon a policy of pursuing an alliance with the Kingdom of England that he was, perhaps inevitably, murdered after his defeat at Sauchieburn.  Toned and with a stain on the reverse.  Sold with a detailed information slip.  Extremely good grade for issue.  £1,395

 

WSC-9142:  Scottish James III Hammered Billon Silver Sixpenny Groat.  Second base silver issue of 1471-83.  Edinburgh mint - this being the only mint in operation for this base issue, whereas it was Edinburgh and Berwick for the two issues either side (first and third issues).  Aberdeen was also utilised much later in the reign.  Obverse: renaissance bust of James III, half-right in surcoat and armour.  Reverse: a floriate cross with thistleheads and mullets in alternate angles.  This was the first use of the Thistlehead on Scottish coinage.  Struck at 0.770 fineness.  S.R. 5270.  A very rare issue.  See old tickets here.  Also, this was a base silver issue - with the groat being 6d in face value whereas the first and third issues were 0.925 fineness and 12d face value - thus the coins did not survive the rigours of time as did the relatively inert 0.925 silver issues.  I refer the reader to the S.R. plate coin in the current guide, it being the very best they could find with all their contacts.  That coin is much inferior to this coin.  One of the main problems with the meagre handful of nice grade examples of the base issue groat is the reverse thistleheads - they're invariably unrecognisable or at best, poor.  Again, I refer the reader to the S.R. plate coin.  See also the Coincraft plate coin (poor), the National Museum of Scotland's sole example (figure 72 in their sylloge), which is better than the S.R. plate coin but nothing like as good as this coin.  The Hunterian Museum (Glasgow) has but a single example (#749 in their sylloge) which is similar to the National Museum of Scotland's example.  Moving out of Scotland, the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford) holds three examples (#750-3 in the sylloge), all three being worn and on a par with the National Museum of Scotland's indifferent example.  In summary, I've been unable to find a single example of this extremely rare issue that is frankly anywhere near as good as this coin.  Choice.  £3,475

Provenance:

ex Dr James Davidson (1896-1985) - his ticket (thank you to Kerry Wilson for the excellent research in identifying this significant collection)

ex Spink, sold to...

ex Layland Scott - a collection of choice hammered coins put together over a great many years

 

 

 

Penny

 

WSC-7698:  Scottish James III Hammered Copper Three-Penny Penny.  Formally regarded as an Ecclesiastical “Crossraguel” issue of Bishop Kennedy.  S.R. 5309.  If you’re interested, the Scottish had a penchant for naming coins from the actual coin legends (the Nonsunt under Mary springs to mind) and this is no exception.  James III was an interesting individual.  Crowned aged 9, the Scots lost Berwick to keep the peace with England but gained Orkney and the Shetland Isles as a part dowry (which makes you wonder what the other part of the dowry was!) when James married Margaret of Denmark (she was just 13).  James III was so unpopular due to his lifestyle and blind insistence upon a policy of pursuing an alliance with the Kingdom of England that he was, perhaps inevitably, murdered after his defeat at Sauchieburn.  Struck on a generous flan with a nice grade reverse.  £245

 

WSC-7722:  James III Scottish Hammered Billon Silver Penny.  Billon coinage, 1475-82, Edinburgh mint.  Facing bust with three fleurs to the crown – S.R. 5302.  Although only Fine, this is probably one of the top grade extant examples.  The S.R. example (similar for type) is outstanding but this is a rounder coin with more detail overall.  Sold with old tickets – ex Daniels (a remarkable ticket), purchased 1940’s? for 2 shillings, ex Spink, 2007, £325 + commissions, ex Phil Higginson collection.  A very rare coin in this grade.  £595

 

 

Halfpenny

 

WSC-9131:  James III Scottish Hammered Silver Long Cross & Stars HALFPENNY.  Light coinage, type IV, circa 1482 only.  Edinburgh mint.  Front facing bust of James, very much following the English issues.  The reverse is more unusual: x3 pellets in two quarters with single mullets of five points in the remaining quarters.  S.R. 5283.  James III was an interesting individual.  Crowned aged 9, the Scots lost Berwick to keep the peace with England but gained Orkney and the Shetland Isles as a part dowry (which makes you wonder what the other part of the dowry was!) when James married Margaret of Denmark (she was just 13).  James III was so unpopular due to his lifestyle and blind insistence upon a policy of pursuing an alliance with the Kingdom of England that he was, perhaps inevitably, murdered after his defeat at Sauchieburn.  This is a particularly hard coin to source, especially in this grade - the S.R. plate coin, the very best example they could source from their vast contact book, is not really that much better than this coin.  A rare coin.  £665

Provenance:

ex Hall's Coins

 

 

 

James IV

 

WSC-9041:  James IV Scottish Hammered Billon Silver Penny.  Second issue, type III with the larger bust.  Edinburgh mint.  S.R. 5361.  A fairly rare issue, it normally being type IV that turns up.  More importantly, this coin is high grade for issue.  Also, whilst the type IV pennies give every appearance of never having been near any kind of silver, this type III coin does actually contain some silver, albeit not much.  James IV was crowned at Scone in 1488, aged just 15.  Initially a thorn in the side of Henry VII due to the numerous border raids, James eventually married Margaret Tudor, Henry VII's daughter, in 1503.  James was well educated and a capable king - his people were vocal in their opposition to the alliance with England - but the pact endured until the death of Henry VII (in truth, what could James do, being married to Henry's daughter?) at which point, it rapidly deteriorated to the point where James actively assisted the French in going to war against Henry VIII.  Good provenance, being through Spink's hands twice (1980's and 1990's) - see tickets here.  A rarer variety but a coin in outstanding grade for issue.  £275

 

 

 

James V

 

WSC-8037:  James V Scottish Hammered Silver Stuart Groat.  Second coinage (the first was just gold), 1526-39.  Type IIIc(i), S.R. 5378.  Holyrood Abbey Mint.  James ascended the throne aged just one year old.  Coincidentally, upon her father's death, Mary (the future Mary Queen of Scots), James's only legitimate heir, was only seven days old when she ascended!  You'd be challenged to source average or lesser grade James V groats for under £1,000 these days - this coin is definitely not one of those.  A high grade example of one of the most attractive hammered silver coins ever to be issued, not just in Scotland but in the entire British Isles.  £1,335

Provenance:

ex Ramussen (2014)

ex R.M. Kirton collection

 

WSC-9209:  James V Scottish Hammered Silver Stuart Groat.  Second coinage (the first was just gold), 1526-39.  Type IIIc, S.R. 5378.  Holyrood Abbey Mint.  James ascended the throne aged just one year old.  Coincidentally, upon her father's death, Mary (the future Mary Queen of Scots), James's only legitimate heir, was only seven days old when she ascended!  You'd be challenged to source average or lesser grade James V groats for under £1,000 these days - this coin is definitely not one of those.  A high grade example of one of the most attractive hammered silver coins ever to be issued, not just in Scotland but in the entire British Isles.  £995

Provenance:

ex Brian Reed - his old ticket (1997)

ex Baldwin's

 

WSC-9088:  James V Hammered Billon Silver Plack.  First coinage, 1513-26, value 4d.  Edinburgh.  S.R. 5381.  James was very much a minor during this first coinage (ascended the throne just aged 1).  One of the best grade examples of this problematic issue I've had.  £285

 

 

 

Mary

 

WSC-9260:  1553 Scottish Mary Portrait Testoon.  First period, 1542-58, before marriage.  Type 1 with crowned bust, right and a crowned shield on the reverse with a cinquefoil both sides.  Edinburgh.  c.f. S.R.5401.  In 1553, Mary would have been just 11 years old.  Struck in lead from official dies, presumably to fool nobody, rather to be used as an official pass or ticket (see http://www.HistoryInCoins.com/A.29-7-23-1.jpg for a similar concept), perhaps to allow entry into and out of Edinburgh?  For me, I think that of all the varied and different coinage from this reign, including the gold left facing portrait issues, and even the later portrait testoons where Mary adopts the same fashionable high hair line as Elizabeth 1st (they never met although Mary pushed hard for such a meeting over many years, so I wonder if this later depiction was some sort of homage to Elizabeth?), this is the one that most captures the essence of who Mary really was, or at least who I think Mary really was - the history books are sometimes less than accurate on such matters, especially those written south of the border!  A very interesting coin and with a price tag of £20,000+ for the silver issue coin in a similar grade to this one, a very attractive alternative.  £995 RESERVED (E.M.27-1-26 Lay-Away)

Provenance:

Unknown collection (old coin cabinet ticket)

ex Spink

WSC-9168:  1556 Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Silver Testoon.  First period, 1542-58, before her marriage, type IIIa, S.R.5404.  Edinburgh mint, initial mark Crown.  The main image is once again poor so here's an alternative using a camera phone indoors.  Circulating at a face value of 5s until the coin was recalled twenty two years later in 1578 under James VI for revaluation to 7s,4d.  The crowned thistle official countermark was used to denote the coin's higher value - a necessity of the time due to the rampant increase in the price of silver.  Interestingly, this coin was increased in value by a massive 46% but gold coins remained unchanged, at least until 1611 but even then the gold revaluation was only 10%.  Muling of the dates on these coins was relatively common due to obverse and reverse dies being kept loose in a box.  However, there is no such muling here which is not really that surprising given that this is the very first date of this type.  Scottish coinage in general was a product of miniscule mintage figures compared to south of the border, and yet pricing seems almost equivalent?  Now clearly English coinage is collected to a much greater extent than Scottish but even so, why is Scottish coinage so undervalued in today’s market compared to its undeniable rarity in numbers?  I have the mintage figures of some milled five shillings to hand:

23rd Oct to 23rd Dec 1692 = 2,692 coins

5th Jan to 5th Dec 1694 = 3,496 coins

3rd Jan to 10th May 1698 = 32,857 coins

Clearly the above data shows somewhat later coins (but if anything, mintages on later Scottish coinage increased with population increases, not decreased), and as a side point, the dates on the coins were not always contemporaneous anyway.  Tiny mintages though, and don’t forget the currency recalls where coinage would be officially taken in to go into the melting pot upon the death of every old monarch to release silver and gold for the new monarch's coinage.  There was also a large recall of coinage in 1707 as a result of the Act of Union: £142,180 face value of hammered Scottish coinage and £96,856 face value of milled Scottish coinage was brought into the Edinburgh mint to be melted down and recoined.  Interestingly, £132,080 face value of foreign (non English, Irish or Scottish) was also handed in at the recall due to the Act, highlighting just how bereft of physical home-grown coinage Scotland was at this time, and thus how extremely rare Scottish coinage is today.  One final point: the obverse 6 in the date has been struck twice on this coin, indicating that the date was 155- on the die with the final digit being added to the coin after minting to correspond with whatever the year had ticked over to.  All well and good - and indeed this was a common practise on the Elizabeth 1st English dated sixpences - but in view of what we know about the muling of dates, it makes absolutely no sense?!  A very interesting and rare coin.  £1,175

Provenance:

ex Spink

 

WSC-9080:  1560 Scottish Francis and Mary Hammered Silver Testoon.  Second period, where Mary was married to Francis II of France (Mary became queen aged just 7 days old but was educated early on in France, which is where she met the Dauphin), 1558-60.  The Dauphin became Francis II of France in 1559, aged just 15 years.  He married Mary the year before (1558) so was king of Scotland before he was king of France.  Francis died aged just 16.  Type II, dated 1560, S.R. 5417.  Of remarkably high grade for any issue, English or otherwise, but all the more so for being Scottish.  A touch better than the S.R. plate coin, that being the very best example our friends at S.R. could find to use as their plate coin with all the famous collections they must have access to.  There are no examples of this coin on the NGC (coin slabbing) database, although there are examples from S.R. 5416 and 5418, illustrating clearly just how rare a coin this is, regardless of grade.  A common trend of late is for US dealers to hoover up all rare, high grade coinage, pay $50 or so to get the coins slabbed and then sell the slabbed coins on to collectors for up to double the original buying-in price.  This coin would attract an NGC grade of at least AU58 (about uncirculated 58) and very possibly higher still - it is that good a coin.  Slabbed coins are not for everyone, myself included, but this gives you an insight as to the direction things are moving.  Even if this coin escapes encapsulation, the overriding trend in recent decades is that high grade coins (and if they're rare, all the better still) are at a premium and will invariably prove to be excellent investments, not to mention looking good in your collection!  Good VF / near EF.  Easily choice.  £3,375

 

WSC-7828:  Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee.  Struck in the first period of Mary’s reign, 1542-58, Edinburgh mint.  S.R. 5432.  Interestingly, not only was that period before her marriage, it was actually during the Regency period where the Earl of Aran was Regent while Mary was still under age – the reverse cinquefoils apparently acknowledge this.  Evenly toned, VF and about as struck.  A superb example from this iconic Scottish monarch.  £385

 

WSC-7692:  Mary Scottish Stuart Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee.  First period, 1542-58, before her marriage - remember, Mary was born December 1542.  Issue of ¾ alloy although looking much higher in the hand.  Edinburgh mint, plain saltire cross, S.R. 5432.  Sold with a couple of old tickets (the most recent giving an incorrect S.R. number) – see here.  One of the nicest examples of this issue that you’re ever likely to find for sale.  £425

 

WSC-7104:  Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee.  Struck in the first period of Mary’s reign, 1542-58, Edinburgh mint.  Interestingly, not only was that period before her marriage, it was actually during the Regency period where the Earl of Aran was Regent while Mary was still under age – the reverse cinquefoils apparently acknowledge this.  Evenly toned and VF with the usual flat areas.  S.R. 5432.  Sold with a very detailed information slip.  £335

 

WSC-9089:  Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver HALF Bawbee.  First period, 1542-58 before marriage, value 3d.  An issue of 3/4 alloy.  Edinburgh.  Voided saltire cross, S.R. 5436.  I've handled very few of this denomination over the past decades.  Rare.  £335

 

WSC-9186:  Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver HALF Bawbee.  First period, 1542-58 before marriage, value 3d.  An issue of 3/4 alloy.  Edinburgh.  Voided saltire cross, S.R. 5436.  Slight bend at 11 o'clock due to the plough but no crack and nothing that can't easily be remedied, if so desired.  I've handled very few of this denomination over the past decades, this being by far the best example I've had in terms of both grade and silver content.  Rare thus.  £445

 

WSC-7209:  Mary, Queen of Scots, Hammered Silver Bawbee or Sixpence.  Struck in the first period of Mary’s reign, 1542-58, Edinburgh mint.  Interestingly, not only was that period before her marriage, it was actually during the Regency period where the Earl of Aran was Regent while Mary was still under age – the reverse cinquefoils apparently acknowledge this.  S.R. 5432 - solid saltire cross.  £255

 

WSC-7587:  1557 Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Siler Plack.  First period before Mary’s marriage, 1542-58.  Issue of ¾ (.750) alloy.  S.R. 5437.  Circulated as a fourpenny piece.  £245

 

 

 

James VI

 

WSC-7701:  1575 Scottish James VI Hammered Silver Half Merk or Noble.  Second coinage, 6s 8d, S.R. 5478.  A better date.  Ex Mark Rasmusson.  Very nice grade.  £395

 

WJC-7790:  1582 James VI Hammered Silver Ten Shillings.  Fourth coinage, S.R. 5490, Edinburgh mint, although there is a 1585 extant document referring to “pestilence at the Edinburgh mint” and thus the need to strike coinage at Dundee and Perth.  This series (40s, 30s, 20s and this 10s) is considered to be one of the finest examples of monarchical depiction and it is certainly a dramatic departure from the norm in terms of what went before.  The trouble was, this was all new to the die sinkers of the day and so whilst the end product at the mint was of adequate quality, after an extremely short period in circulation (and remember, Scottish circulation was much more intense than south of the border due to lack of sufficient coinage physically in circulation), the inadequate, shallow dies quickly became apparent through the quality of the coinage.  Lessons were seemingly learnt as the seventh coinage adopted a toned-down, more traditional depiction of the king.  £465

 

WSC-8050:  1594 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Five Shillings.  Seventh coinage, bare-headed bust of James VI (future James 1st of England) wearing armour; crowned triple-headed thistle.  S.R. 5494.  Wavy flan, presumed creased and straightened in antiquity.  Considered one of the best designs, front and back, of any Scottish or British coin.  £325

 

WSC-7413:  James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Eightpenny Groat.  Coinage of 1583-90, being before James VI took on the English throne after the death of Elizabeth 1st in 1604.  Edinburgh mint.  An issue of 0.25 fineness.  An excellent example for type.  £185

 

WSC-9053:  Outstanding 1601 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Thistle Merk.  Pre Union, circulating at 13s,4d.  Eighth coinage, S.R. 5497.  The rarer 1601 date.  This was the very first date in this short four year series with the reverse die clearly having 16-- as the date with the appropriate final two digits to be added depending on what year it was.  This addition of "01" went wrong as the date actually reads 1601 over 1611.  The weight is 101.8 grains which even if you hadn't seen the image tells you it's a virtually full flan coin (official weight was supposed to be 104.7 grains).  The supply of Scottish currency was way, way below what was required by the populace - it was rarely hoarded, rather used and used, resulting in very worn coinage relatively quickly.  This coin is the best example I've ever had.  £445

 

WSC-7656:  1602 James VI Scottish Stuart Hammered Silver Full Merk.  Eighth coinage, S.R. 5497.  Rarer 13 shilling, 4 pence denomination with a very clear date.  £265

 

WSC-8063:  Scottish James VI Hammered Silver 30 Shillings.  Initial mark Thistle.  The rarer Type II variety - S.R. 5504.  £345

 

WSC-9147:  1619 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings.  Eighth coinage, type II, Edinburgh mint.  Initial mark Thistle.  Burns 163 (fig. 986), SCBI 35 (Scottish) 1379, S.R. 5508.  An interesting issue in that it’s very easy to mistake this for the English sixpence (indeed, bizarrely, the 1622 English sixpence has initial mark Thistle as does the Scottish six shillings, which is the usual way people differentiate) but if you look closely at the reverse shield, you’ll note the Scottish arms at are in the 1st and 4th quarters.  I’m not sure this has ever been illustrated before but here’s a comparison of the reverse shields on James 1st English sixpences and Scottish James VI six shillings.  One point of caution: the 1605, 1606 and 1609/7 Scottish six shillings have the English coat of arms so the initial mark is all you have to differentiate between the two!  The penultimate Scottish six shillings date, made all the more interesting when you consider that the issue ended for James in 1622 and there were no issues in 1620 and 1621.  The Collection of the National Museum of Scotland listed in Sylloge 70 has the following dates (all singles) in their collection: 1610, 1612, 1613 1615, 1617, 1618, 1619, 1622 and an unlisted date of 1624, which gives you an idea as to the extreme rarity of ALL Scottish six shillings.  Further, none of the museum coins come close to the grade of this piece and are mostly worn although their 1619 piece is better than the others in the collection.  Just like the very similar English sixpences, the six shillings were poorly struck and from poorly made dies, although bad that they are, the English examples are just about marginally better than the Scottish!  There was a 1615 Scottish six shillings for sale recently on the internet, in a very similar grade to this coin, at £4,500.  A very rare coin.  £1,675

 

 

 

Charles 1st

 

WSC-7871:  Charles 1st Scottish 30 Shillings.  Third coinage, intermediate issue, 1637-42.  14.76g, 6h.  SCBI 35, 1457 (same dies), S.R. 5554, Bull 7 (this coin illustrated).  Initial mark Thistle both sides.  An intermediate issue falling between Briot and Falconer although the horse is a Briot style horse.  Ex Colonel Morrieson (1987 - acquired from a Spink sale of that same year), ex Maurice Bull.  Old tickets here and here.  An interesting contemporary political defacement in the form of a scrape on the king on this otherwise Good VF grade coin.  £1,795

 

WSC-8147:  Charles 1st Stuart Scottish Hammered Silver Two Shillings.  A final and thus very late fourth issue of 1642, right in the middle of the Civil War, or specifically, the first of three Civil Wars for this period.  Large II behind the bust, no mark for Briot - S.R. 5593.  Interestingly, the Scottish had fought in support of the English Parliamentarians in the First English Civil War, but sent an army in support of Charles I into England during the Second English Civil War.  The timeline is 1642-6 (1st), 1648 (2nd) and 1649-51 (3rd).  If you're wondering what happened in "the year off" of 1647, well, in 1646 Charles surrendered to the Scots, who handed him over to parliament. He escaped to the Isle of Wight in 1647 and encouraged discontented Scots to invade for the 1648 leg.  A seldom seen coin, and one that almost never turns up in better than Fine condition - just ook at the poor example S.R. use as their plate coin.  All the more interesting due to it's late date.  £265

 

WSC-7880:  Charles 1st Scottish Hammered Silver 40 Pence with Excellent Provenance.  Third coinage, type 1 Briot issue, S.R. 5579.  See old tickets here: Burns p.462/14 but different dies, Murray O6/Rf.  Ex Cochran-Patrick (his old ticket), sold to Seaby 1950.  An uncommon denomination, seeming getting rarer by the day, but more importantly, bearing in mind the usual poor, damaged state these 40d coins usually turn up in, a very good grade example - given as VF by old tickets.  A rare opportunity to acquire not only a good grade Scottish Stuart coin, but one with long provenance.  £345

 

WSC-7674:  Stuart Charles 1st Scottish Hammered Silver Forty Pence.  Third coinage, 1637-42, type 1 using Briot dies.  S.R. 5577.  There were five types in the third coinage – three for Falconer, one intermediate but only one for Briot.  A much rarer denomination compared to the twenty pence.  Generally a poor issue, this being one of the best grade examples I’ve had.  £255

 

WSC-7911:  1637-42 Charles 1st Scottish 20 Pence.  Third coinage, Falconer issue.  S.R. 5591.  Provenance going right back to July 1955.  Good grade for issue.  £195

 

WSC-9148:  1633 Charles 1st Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings.  First coinage, Edinburgh mint.  Initial mark Thistle.  Burns 5 (fig. 999), SCBI Scotland 70:163-164, S.R. 5543.  Interesting in that Charles 1st, being on the throne since 1625, was still using the image of his father, James 1st of England or James VI of Scotland, on a coin eight years on from that date!  A very similar looking issue to both the English James 1st sixpences and the Scottish James VI six shillings and being equally poorly struck from badly made dies.  The penultimate Scottish six shillings date for this dated first issue.  The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has only a 1626 and a 1631, both quite poor.  The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow has only a 1626 and a 1632 - the former being as bad as the two Ashmolean examples; the latter being better but absolutely not as good as this 1633 example.  I think this illustrates just how rare a coin this is?  Slabbed by PCGS and graded by them as VF35 making it a "Top Pop" coin.  This is such an impressive coin in both rarity and grade - you might think that you can find better elsewhere but I'll wager you can't.  I certainly can't!  £1,975 RESERVED (M.He.20-5-25 LayAway)

Provenance:

ex Dolphin Coins, circa 1990

ex Richard August collection

 

 

 

Milled Coinage

 

Charles II

 

Silver

 

WSC-9010:  1669 Charles II Scottish Milled Merk.  First coinage with an unusual and uncommon 270 degree die rotation.  Circulated at 13s, 4d.  Something you may not have been aware of: the punches for this coin were actually made in London by none other than Thomas Simon, although to be fair, the actual dies were made at the Scottish mint under the direction of the equally famous John Falconer.  Not a particularly rare year but what elevates this coin above nearly all other first issue Merks is the grade - it's virtually unprecedented to find one so good!  Note the S.R. 2020 Scottish price guide (resplendent throughout with notoriously conservative pricing, not to mention now being five years out of date) has this coin at £1,200.  A rare coin.  £685 

 

WJC-7046:  1669 Charles II Scottish Silver Half Merk.  6s, 8d, struck under the first coinage.  S.R. 5614.  Rarer en medaille die axis.  £165

 

WSC-7096:  Charles II 1670 Scottish Milled Half Merk or 6s, 8d.  First coinage, S.R. 5614.  Three factors elevate this coin above most others: a) High grade for issue, b) The die axis is a rare and bazaar 90 degrees and c) There are no obverse stops (a rare variety recorded by S.R.).  Both an interesting and rare offering.  £435

 

WSC-7284:  1677/6 Scottish Charles II Milled Silver Quarter Dollar.  Second coinage, Sir John Falconer, Master of the Mint issue.  A machine-made issue with the machinery to facilitate this obtained from London in 1675.  S.R. 5620.  Rarely found in better grade than this and often (usually) found in worse grade.  Scottish coinage of this period was in short supply and thus usage was high.  £295

 

WSC-7105:  1680 Charles II Scottish Silver Eighth Dollar.  Second coinage, Sir John Falconer, Master of the Mint issue.  A machine-made issue with the machinery to facilitate this obtained from London in 1675.  S.R. 5622.  180 degree die axis.  £110

 

WSC-9013:  1682/0 Charles II Large Scottish Milled Dollar or Four Merks.  Second coinage with standard 180 degree die rotation.  The same size as an English Charles II silver crown.  Falconer's issue (F before the left facing bust of Charles II), S.R. 5618.  Following on from the first coinage four merk issue, the dies for this piece were redesigned with the reverse Latin legend now referring separately to Scotland and England.  The new coin was authorised by "An act anent the Coyne" of 25th February 1675 (first issued in 1676) and although officially referred to as a "four merk piece", it later became known as a dollar.  The 1681 and 1682 coins were officially raised in value to 56 shillings (from 53s, 4d).  The denomination was never to be seen again after this date; later similar sized coins being sixty shillings.  Sometime cleaned, a rare overdate (which effectively means this die produced both a 53s, 4d coin AND a 56s coin!), very good grade for issue and a very rare denomination indeed.  £875

 

 

 

James VII

 

WSC-7979:  1687 James VII Milled Scottish Silver Ten Shillings.  Laureate bust right, 10 below; St Andrew's cross with National emblems in angles.  The very last Stuart king.  Although a very short reign (James's insistence on converting to Catholicism was his obvious undoing), the Scottish coins are even shorter, all being just 1687 and 1688.  We all know that James VII of Scotland was the one and same James II of England but it is interesting to note that all Scottish coins (and to be fair, there aren't many for James VII, even counting the spurious 60 shillings) have James II (IACOBVS II) as the obverse legend start.  South of the border, these coins would have circulated at one shilling.  £285

 

 

 

William & Mary

 

WJC-7475:  HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1691 William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee.  Circulated at a sixpence.  En medaille die rotation.  Dublin.  An act of Privy Council in August 1691 authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or less per year, but never to be exceeded.  This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark Cross of Five Pellets (many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), S.R. 5666.  Collectors will be aware that you hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF – they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of circulation.  Further, the obverse dies of William & Mary bawbees specifically were simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the conjoined busts to give a good result.  The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie not a patch on the reverse.  This coin is approaching EF for issue.  One or two bawbees of this grade recently came up in Heritage Auctions where they all achieved four figure prices.  I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality ever again – they are that rare.  £695

 

WJC-7476:  HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1692 William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee.  Circulated at a sixpence.  180 degree die rotation.  Dublin.  An act of Privy Council in August 1691 authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or less per year, but never to be exceeded.  This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark Two Small Trefoils, (many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), S.R. 5668.  Collectors will be aware that you hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF – they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of circulation.  Further, the obverse dies of William & Mary bawbees specifically were simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the conjoined busts to give a good result.  The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie not a patch on the reverse.  This coin is EF for issue – S.R. suggest no coins in this grade exist for this year, as evidenced in S.R. 2020.    One or two bawbees of this grade, possibly not quite as good as this one in particular, recently came up in Heritage Auctions where they all achieved four figure prices.  I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality ever again – they are that rare.  £895

 

WJC-7478:  HIGH GRADE, CHOICE & VERY, VERY RARE 1692 DOUBLE DATED William & Mary Scottish Copper Bawbee.  Circulated at a sixpence.  En medaille die rotation.  Dublin.  This is the extremely rare 1692 error which left the mint with the date on BOTH SIDES.  It is the ‘…ET 1692 REGINA’ error under S.R. 5666.  An act of Privy Council in August 1691 authorised a small issue of copper coins (Bawbees and Bodles combined), being up to 500 stones in weight or less per year, but never to be exceeded.  This act carried on when Mary died into the reign of William II, but effectively, these were the last Scottish copper coins to date. Initial mark Vertical Line of Three Pellets – unrecorded in S.R. – (many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!).  Collectors will be aware that you hardly ever come across Bawbees (of any reign) in VF – they were from soft metal and simply did not survive the rigours of circulation.  Further, the obverse dies of William & Mary bawbees specifically were simply not up to the job as there was too much design to engrave with the conjoined busts to give a good result.  The trick with these things is to look at the reverse of any coins in order to gauge the grade as often, as in this case, the obverse side would have left the mint fairly close to how it looks in this coin, ie not a patch on the reverse.  This coin is nearly EF for issue but there are no better grade examples known for this rare double date error.  One or two bawbees of this grade, possibly not quite as good as this one in particular, and certainly not as rare as this variety, recently came up in Heritage Auctions where they all achieved four figure prices.  I don’t expect to ever have Bawbees of this quality & rarity ever again – they are that rare.  £995

 

WSC-9256:  1692 William & Mary Scottish Silver 10 Shillings.  Conjoined busts, GRATIA legend, small 10 under the busts - Spink 5661.  If you’re wondering why it is that Scottish coinage always seems to be worn to within an inch of its life, it’s because even though Scotland’s population was thin on the ground compared to England’s, the coinage minted wasn’t nearly enough to go around.  Also, the Scottish economy was such that coinage wasn’t secreted away for a rainy day – it was used repeatedly simply to survive.  This is a very nice coin indeed for issue, being fairly comparable with the S.R. plate coin, which was the very best they could find from their not-so-little black book of contacts.  £495

Provenance:

ex HistoryInCoins... sold to

ex John Williams' collection (purchased 2023)