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-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-7203: 1699 Scottish Silver Jacobite Medal. Prince James Edward Francis Stuart, 1688 – 1766. A medal designed by Roettier and distributed among Jacobite followers, predominantly outside of Scotland, to gather support for Prince James (The Old Pretender) to be crowned James III of England and Ireland and James VIII of Scotland. MI (ii)204/519, Eimer 381. Sold with an old (2004?) ticket together with a more recent auction information slip. The rising sun is typical of the symbolism used by the Jacobites; it represents the sun dispersing demons – a new dawn. £325

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-7120: 1745 Scottish Jacobite Rebellion Silver Medal. Struck to commemorate the re-taking of Carlisle after the Duke had returned to London. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 606/264. Prince Charles and his army advanced into England as far as Derby where, upon full consideration of the dangers which threatened them, they commenced their retreat, making no stand until they were over the border. The Jacobites left a small garrison at Carlisle, which, after a small show of resistance, surrendered to the Duke of Cumberland. This medal depicts the Duke, trampling on a Scottish soldier, comforting Anglia, who is accompanied by the emblems of Religion & Liberty. Listed Rare. £395

WSC-7121: 1745 Scottish Jacobite Rebellion Silver Medal. Struck to commemorate the re-taking of Carlisle after the Duke had returned to London. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 607/265. Prince Charles and his army advanced into England as far as Derby where, upon full consideration of the dangers which threatened them, they commenced their retreat, making no stand until they were over the border. The Jacobites left a small garrison at Carlisle, which, after a small show of resistance, surrendered to the Duke of Cumberland. This medal depicts the mighty English Lion overcoming the weak Wolf with the legend “Justice Triumphant” – a retort against Prince Charles who had inscribed his standrard, perhaps prematurely, “Tandem Triumphans”: Triumphant at last. Listed Rare. £365

WSC-7537: 1745 Scottish Jacobite Silver Medal. Carlisle is recaptured, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland, and the Jacobite rebels retreat back to Scotland. A medium silver medal being 34mm diameter – similar to a contemporary halfcrown. Eimer 598, Medallic Illustrations (ii) 606/264. Toned VF and ex Spink. £395

WSC-7693: 1745 Scottish Silver Jacobite Medal – “REBELS RETREAT TO SCOTLAND”. William, Duke of Cumberland taking on the rebels and forcing them to retreat back whence they came, thereby recapturing Carlisle. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 607/265. In the absence of social media, very much a propaganda medal of its time. For some bazaar reason, someone’s decided to pay a not inconsequential sum to have this medal slabbed by NGC. For that, they were told the medal was VF, although with obverse scratches to the fields, and they got a plastic capsule which I’ll wager will be broken open and put in the bin sometime in the next few years. The medal is indeed about VF – NGC mistakenly took the flat high points as wear. If they’d known this was not the case, the medal would be XF 40 or something along those lines. As already mentioned, this was simply a means of getting a message out to the public, which is why it’s surprising that they bothered to use silver. It was like today’s government charging us a fee to watch a Party Political Message, pre election! A nice piece of Scottish Jacobite history (and these slabs do come away fairly easily!) £425

WSC-7855: Choice 1746 Scottish Jacobite Medal - The Hanging of the Rebels! The Battle of Culloden. Medallic Illustrations 618(ii)/289. Depicting a Jacobite rebel literally being hanged by the Duke of Cumberland's men, together with two others, suppliant, awaiting the same fate. Medals of this period were all about propaganda or getting the message out there to the masses - they were the 18th century equivalent of Twitter. There were many such executions of Jacobite supporters carried out immediately following this famous battle (and countless others beside), as well as terrible punishments metered out - this medal was aimed at both warning off any future Jacobite support as well as reassuring the English that all was being most effectively taken care of regarding those pesky Jacobites. It may interest you to know that literally the day after the Battle of Culloden, such was the public interest, a Cumberland Society was formed. Medals were issued in gold, silver and base with the stipulation being that the number of gold medals must not exceed the Duke's age. He was 25. A Cumberland Society gold medal sold in 1897, from the Montagu collection, at Sotherby's for a record price of £225. The same medal sold again in 1904 for £238 which was another record price. Even today, the Battle of Culloden will be familiar to most people. In terms of this actual Battle of Culloden medal, it is part of a series of approximately twelve which commemorate the Duke of Cumberland's victory at Culloden. This particular medal was, to quote Medallic Illustrations, "...badly executed", similar to the Pinchbeck medals (a Georgian toy manufacturer who took it upon himself to issue Jacobite and Porto Bello medals). Both issues really are generally poor in die, execution and longevity. This particular medal flies in the face of the others, being choice. It's virtually as struck (the flat areas are courtesy of the dies), but also of a quality strike and, importantly, from dies extremely early on in their life. You'll not see one better so don't miss out on this one. £465

WSC-7730: 1746 Scottish Jacobite Rebellion Medal – The Rebels Defeated. The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. MI(ii)616/286, Eimer 609. Full of symbolism; the medal depicts a Highlander, hat off, kneeling suppliantly before the crowned lion of England. We perhaps think of the Battle of Culloden as a chivalrous, gentlemanly sojourn with handshakes afterwards. It was actually the antithesis of that, and worse: the English, after the battle, visited devastation and atrocities upon the glens of unimaginable magnitude with rebels, rebel supporters and innocent men, women and children alike all treated the same under the red mist of “victory”. A nice grade, brass medal from an important period of British history. £245

WSC-7746: 1746 Scottish Jacobite Large Medal – The Battle of Culloden. An impressive large medal commemorating the famous battle from the victor’s perspective. These were basically the Facebook of the day – propaganda for the people. The message was delivered via symbolism rather than words, as was the way then – Hercules tramples on Discord. The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, on Drummossie Moor near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. MI(ii)613/278, Eimer 604. We perhaps think of the Battle of Culloden as a chivalrous, gentlemanly sojourn with handshakes afterwards. It was actually the antithesis of that, and worse: the English, after the battle, visited devastation and atrocities upon the glens of unimaginable magnitude with rebels, rebel supporters and innocent men, women and children alike all treated the same under the red mist of “victory”. Nice grade. £295

Hammered Gold & Silver Coinage

David 1^st

WSC-7220: David 1^st Hammered Silver Phase A Penny. Struck 1136 up until the very early 1140’s. 1.09g, 10h. Cross Moline type in David’s name: (+D)AVID RE, so literally the very first Scottish coin struck with a Scottish monarch’s name. Spink 5003. Struck Edinburgh with Erebald as the moneyer: (+)EREBALD (---). Listed in THE SYLLOGE OF COINS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 35: SCOTTISH COINS as #1 – the very first coin in the book. The sylloge is made up of the Ashmolean & Hunterian museum collections, those being the main public resource for Scottish coinage. The Ashmolean has only two Phase A examples (their #1 the same dies as this coin); the Hunterian Museum has none. The National Museum Edinburgh (see CATALOGUE OF SCOTTISH COINS IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM EDINBUGH) has no David 1^st coins earlier than Phase C. Sold with these old auction tickets / cabinet labels. Reverse off-struck, some slight porosity and about VF for issue. The last Spink 5003 I saw go through auction was the William’s example, sold through Spink 2018. That coin was lacking in legends and still achieved £7,500 including buyer’s commission. The only other 5003 I recall seeing was getting on for ten years ago with a hammer of around £12,800 after buyer’s commission. This is an excessively rare and very important coin. £6,995 RESERVED (M.S. 4-5-23 on Lay-Away)

WSC-7112: David 1^st Early Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. 1124-53. In fact David 1^st coins were the first Scottish coins to be officially issued. Period D, posthumous issue struck under Malcolm IV. Spink 5010 with better workmanship on the dies and although the legends were meaningless, they were at least composed of properly formed letters. Obverse: crowned bust right with sceptre, legend reads: +NRVOIL; reverse: cross fleurdelisse, pellets in angles, +.NR. 1.29g, die rotation 10h, SCBI 35, 9ff; B 27, fig.8A – same obverse die. Tentatively attributed to the Roxburgh mint. Slightly bent but otherwise extraordinarily good grade for this issue at nearly VF. Indeed, not only have I never seen another coin approaching this grade in the hand, I also have seen nothing as good in reference books. The National Museum in Edinburgh have no examples and the x5 period D examples shared between the Hunterian (Glasgow) and the Ashmolean (Oxford), one of which is a cut quarter, are not a patch on this one – the portrait of David is absolutely stunning. A rare and important coin. £7,625

William 1^st

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

WSC-7282: William 1^st “The Lion” Scottish Medieval Penny. Short cross & stars coinage of 1195 – 1205. Spink 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 held of Roxburgh, none of which are in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow! £285

WSC-7634: William 1^st, The Lion, Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Phase A, circa 1195-1205, short cross & stars. Spink 5027. Note the most unusual start point to the obverse legend – 6 o’clock! Roxburgh mint - reverse: +RAVL O[N ROC] EBV. The Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles (#35 – Scottish coins in the Ashmolean & Hunterian Museums) lists only three examples held of Roxburgh, none of which are in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow! An interesting stylised portrait of the king. Nice coin. £425

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

WSC-6099: William 1^st “The Lion” Medieval Scottish Penny. Phase B type: 1205 – 1230. Voided short cross. The much rarer +hENRY LE RVS reverse reading (Spink 5031) which is from the Roxburgh mint. Crude (stylised), very good grade and rare. £425

WSC-7345: William 1^st “The Lion” Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. Short Cross & Stars, Phase B coinage of 1205-1230. Spink 5029. +hVE WALTER – joint Edinburgh & Perth mints. An excellent portrait piece, being just as good as the Spink plate coin. £425

WSC-7391: William 1^st Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Voided Short Cross Penny. Phase B, 1205-30, Spink 5029. Obverse: +LE REI WILI A, reverse: +hUIE WALTER. Joint Edinburgh and Perth mints. Choice. £495 RESERVED (S.O.15-1-23 Lay-Away)

Alexander II

WSC-7650: Alexander II (2^nd) 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, Spink 5034. Near VF for this particular issue. Rare coin. £745

WSC-7759: Alexander II (2^nd) 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, Spink 5034. Near VF for this particular issue. Rare coin and a rarer still Burns’ variety. £845

Alexander III

1^st Issue Pennies

WSC-7799: Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. First coinage of 1250-80, voided long cross and stars, type III, 1.41g, Spink 5043. +WILAM ON LA – Lanark mint. You’ll have to search quite hard to find another example of a Lanark mint penny. In 2003, DNW sold the Scottish coins from the collection of the (then) late Dr. JAMES DAVIDSON. There were a huge amount of coins in that collection but only a single Lanark mint Alexander III. It was objectively an inferior coin compared to this one and with commissions, that coin sold for over £500 some 20 years ago. Even ignoring the rarity of the mint and just looking at it as an early Alexander III penny, this coin is stunning – even I couldn’t take a bad picture of it! A rare offering. £785 RESERVED (M.S. 20-6-23 on Lay-Away)

WSC-6377: Alexander III Rarer 1^st Issue “DVN” Mint Penny. Long cross & stars, 1250-80. WALTER.ON.DVN – one of the mysteries of Scottish coinage is that we still do not know the mint town represented by the signature DVN. Dunbar, Dunfermline, Dundee, even Dumbarton have all been muted as the possible location. Type III, Spink 5043. The new Spink book (2015 so not that new anymore) has this coin at £450. This one for sale at £425

WSC-5982: Alexander III Rarer 1^st Issue BERWICK Mint Penny. Long cross & stars, 1250-80. RO BER TON BE – Robert of Berwick. Outstanding portrait piece. Type III, SCBI 35, 93/A, Spink 5043. £385

WSC-6793: Alexander III Rarer 1^st Issue STIRLING Mint Penny. Long cross & stars, 1250-80. hO(N) RI. ON^S TR – Henri of Stirling. Type III, SCBI 35, 137/A, Spink 5043. Old collection piece. A rare Scottish mint. £395

WSC-7652: Alexander III Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Rare Mint Penny. First coinage, 1250-80, Spink 5043, SCBI 35, 116. 1.32 grams. Rare Forfar mint. [+WILAM] ON FOR with the OR of FOR being ligated. Die-matched to Wilam. Excellent portrait, clear mint signature – a very rare coin. Old Mike Vosper ticket and ex HistoryInCoins stock. £595 RESERVED (D.P. 29-6-23)

2^nd Coinage Pennies

WSC-6856: Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. Second coinage, 1280-86. Edinburgh mint town. Class E, Spink 5056. Not a great eye appeal coin (worn and centrally pierced) but a rare 20 point reverse. £55

WSC-6769: Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. Second coinage, 1280-86. Perth mint town. Class E, Spink 5056. £145

WSC-6881: Alexander III Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. Second coinage, 1280-86. Perth mint town. Rarer class D, Spink 5057. From an old collection – see original ticket here. £135

WSC-7275: Alexander III Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Sterling class E with x20 points making this Edinburgh mint. Spink 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

2^nd Coinage Half Pennies

WSC-7651: Alexander III Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Round Halfpenny. Second coinage, 1280-86, Spink 5061, SCBI 35, 287; B3. Initial mark Cross Pattee, 0.60 grams, 6h. You’ll likely see one of these for every one hundred second coinage pennies, and that’s probably conservative. £225

John Baliol

Pennies

WSC-5369: John Baliol Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. The first issue, “rough” coinage of 1292 – 1296. Spink 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. £385

Robert “The Bruce” 1st

Farthings

WSC-7724: Robert 1^st THE BRUCE Scottish Hammered Silver FARTHING. Another image here using a completely different camera, a different background and a less invasive light source. 1306-29. Minted at either Edinburgh (this mint was recaptured by the Scots in 1313) or Berwick (this unassuming English / Scottish coastal town changed hands no fewer than 14 times in the two centuries leading up to 1482). Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +ROBERTVS DEI GRA, rev. long cross pattee, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR VM REX, weight 0.35g, Spink 5078. Interestingly, the farthing is virtually identical to the penny, bar the obvious size differential, whilst the middle denomination, the halfpenny, is quite different on the reverse. Robert Bruce was a direct descendant of David 1^st. Robert 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. I have a lot of time for Coincraft’s informative and sometimes insightful comments (less so their pricing although to be fair, it’s an old publication) and they have not let the collector down on this coin – see what they say here. There was a wonderful piece of research done on Robert 1^st coinage undertaken by Nick Holmes and Lord Stewartby. They recorded only twelve farthings of Robert the Bruce in their die study of the coinage in 2000, of which nine were in museum collections. The full research is to be found in BNJ 70, pp. 45–60. An excessively rare denomination from this highly sought-after Scottish monarch; one who gave the English a seriously bloody nose at the Battle of Bannockburn, placing him in an extremely select group of Scottish leaders. RESERVED

Pennies

WSC-7619: Robert The Bruce Hammered Silver Medieval Penny. Robert 1^st, 1306-29. Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +:ROBERTVS: DEI: GRA:, rev. long cross pattee, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR Vm R EX, weight 1.35g (Burns 1, figure 225; Spink 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. The all important provenance makes this coin extremely significant and desirable. £1,750

WSC-7741: Robert 1^st THE BRUCE Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Robert 1^st, 1306-29. Crowned head left, sceptre before, beaded circles and legend surrounding, +:ROBERTVS: DEI: GRA:, rev. long cross pattee, pierced mullet of five points in each quarter, beaded circles +SCO TOR VMR EX, weight 1.28g, 5h. SCBI 35, 318-20, Burns 1, fig 225, Spink 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. £1,695

David II

Groats

WSC-6773: David II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Groat. Third (Light) coinage, 1367-71 VILLA EDINBVRGH – Edinburgh mint. Spink 5125 – star on the base of the sceptre coupled with trefoils within the tressure. £275

WSC-7054: David II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Groat. Second coinage, VILL AA BER DON – rare Aberdeen mint. Spink 5103. Ex Murrey, ex Spink, ex Carlyon-Britton, ex Parsons, ex Glendinings, etc. An impressive provenance with some very well known names. Attractively toned, especially on the reverse. Sold with old tickets. Spink 5103. The last Aberdeen mint David II groat I saw go through auction achieved a hammer price approaching two thousand and I can’t imagine it had as good a provenance as this one. £1,350

Pennies

WSC-6460: David II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. Second coinage, 1351-57. VILLA ABERDON – the very rare Aberdeen provincial mint. Spink 5121 where the 2020 price guide lists this coin at £1,100. I am unaware of any Aberdeen pennies coming up for sale in recent or even non recent times. A great rarity – an Aberdeen Groat in this series (Spink 5103) achieved a final price of $4288 – well over £3,000 – in the January 2021 CNG sale. £795

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

WSC-7680: David II Scottish Hammered Silver Medieval Penny - Choice. Second issue, Edinburgh mint, Spink 5088. The very best I have ever seen, bar none. Ex Patrick Finn 1998. Choice. £565

Robert II

Pennies

WSC-6093: Robert II Scottish Hammered Silver Penny. 1371-90, Perth mint. Interesting fact: Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce. Spink 5146 – rarer variety. £159

Halfpennies

WSC-7491: Robert II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Halfpenny. 1371-90, Edinburgh mint. Spink 5152. Better than the Spink plate coin. £395

Robert III

WAu-7763: Robert III Medieval Hammered Gold Demy-Lion. Heavy coinage, 1390-1403, second issue. 1.77g. Circulated at 2s, 6d. Shield in tressure / long saltire cross with lis. Spink 5158. Ex Mark Rasmusson. £3,995

WSC-7681: Robert III Scottish Hammered Silver Medieval Groat - Choice. Heavy coinage, second issue, Perth mint, Spink 5170. The very best I have ever seen, bar none. Ex Mark Rasmusson 2010, see here and here for old tickets. Choice. £685

James II

WSC-7721: James II Medieval Scottish Hammered Silver Groat. First coinage, 1437-51, Edinburgh mint. Tall crown, bushy hair – Spink 5225. nVF and toned. A rare monarch, rarer still in this grade. £1,275

James III

WSC-7698: Scottish James III Hammered Copper Three-Penny Penny. Formally regarded as an Ecclesiastical “Crossraguel” issue of Bishop Kennedy. Spink 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-7551: James III Hammered Silver Scottish Groat. Type VI, main issue of 1484-88. Edinburgh mint. Spink 5288. 24mm, 3.83g. Toned and with a stain on the reverse. Sold with a detailed information slip. Extremely good grade for issue. £1,395

WSC-7722: James III Scottish Hammered Billon Silver Penny. Billon coinage, 1475-82, Edinburgh mint. Facing bust with three fleurs to the crown – Spink 5302. Although only Fine, this is probably one of the top grade extant examples. The Spink 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

James IV

WSC-7699: Scottish James IV Hammered Billon Silver Penny. Type III with a larger bust, Spink 5361. Edinburgh mint. Ex Patrick Finn from the 1990’s (sold £150), ex Mark Rasmusson. Excellent grade for issue. £285

WSC-7723: James IV Scottish Hammered Silver Groat. Light coinage, 1496 - 1513, Edinburgh mint. Neat facing bust, im Crown, regnal number at the end of the obverse legend – Spink 5342. ex Hird, 1974, ex Rasmusson 2008, ex Phil Higginson collection. Better than the Spink plate coin (2020) - the very best example Spink could find with their huge resources and contacts. Choice – find a better example. £3,775

James V

WSC-7715: James V Stuart Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee or Sixpence. Third coinage, 1538-42. Struck at 0.250 silver fineness (earlier silver issues under “normal” times were struck at 0.833 silver fineness) although looking at this coin, you’d perhaps question if it really is that low. Annulet over obverse I so Spink 5384. Old ticket here – ex B.A. Seaby (August 1982), ex Baldwin’s. A remarkably high grade coin, easily bettering the Spink plate coin which with their vast resources of contacts, was the best example they could source. Choice. £435

WSC-6799: James V Scottish Stuart Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee. Third coinage, 1538 – 1542. Annulet over the obverse 1 so Spink 5384. 1.89 grams, 23mm. Rarer monarch. £235

WSC-7742: James V Scottish Hammered Silver Groat. Second coinage (there was no silver first coinage), 1526-39, type III, Spink 5378. Edinburgh mint. Trefoil stops, 2.51g, 6h. Silver groats, which circulated at 1s 6d and at 0.833 fineness, were not struck until late in the reign and even Spink state that they are all scarce. Once cleaned, making photography challenging, and very slightly bent. There is no discolouration or damage to the 4 o’clock obverse edge – I just have a rubbish camera, or more likely it’s the person behind the camera! Ex Spink. I’ve been trying to buy a JV groat for awhile now as it’s been a gap on this website for too long. I don’t think I’ve seen one for under £1,000 in all that time, and that’s trade prices. £895

Mary

WSC-7691: 1560 / 1578 Francis and Mary Scottish Stuart Hammered Silver HALF Testoon. Second period, 1558-60, type II, dated 1560, Spink 5420. Weight 2.83 grams and die rotation 11h. A rare later issue HALF Testoon but elevated to being much, much rarer with the addition of the 1578 crowned thistle counterstamp under James VI, officially revaluing this coin from its original 2s 6d to a heady 3s 8d – see page 76 of the most recent Scottish edition of Spink. Coincraft are usually good for useful bits of information – see here. The third issue coin that they allude to, the only other recorded example on their database, is Spink 5423 – Third Period. An exceptionally rare / likely to be unique coin which would be one of the highlights in any Scottish collection; national or private. £5,875

WSC-7803: 1558 Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Silver Testoon or Four Shillings. First period before marriage, 1542-58. Type IIIb with the low-arched crown and no annulets below the M and the R, initial mark Crown. Spink 5406. Interestingly, of the tiny handful of Mary Testoons that I’ve had over more years than I care to acknowledge, I think I’m correct in saying that this one is the first without a muling of the dates?! 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? I have the mintage figures of the milled five shillings to hand:

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

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

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

Clearly the above data shows that the dates on the coins were not always contemporaneous. Tiny mintages though, and don’t forget currency recalls where coinage would be taken in to go into the melting pot upon the death of every old monarch to release silver for new monarch 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 handed in, highlighting just how bereft of physical coinage Scotland was at this time, and thus hare rare Scottish coinage is today. Some toning and abt VF as stated on the ticket. A very desirable coin. £895

WSC-7828: Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee. Struck in the first period of Mary’s reign, 1542-58, Edinburgh mint. Spink 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, Spink 5432. Sold with a couple of old tickets (the most recent giving an incorrect Spink 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. Spink 5432. Sold with a very detailed information slip. £335

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. Spink 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. Spink 5437. Circulated as a fourpenny piece. £245

WSC-7822: 1559 Scottish Mary Queen of Scots Hammered Billon Silver Nonsunt. A twelve penny groat struck in the second period, 1558-60, under both Mary and her husband, Francis. It was an issue of half alloy (.5 fine) which was actually quite high considering the Lions of the same date which were 23/24 alloy - basically base metal. The obverse crowned heraldic dolphin is facing left (it's my belief that left facing is the rarer of the two) so this is Spink 5448. If you're scratching your head over the derivation of the term "nonsunt", look no further than the reverse legend. A small hole at 12 o'clock. As the ticket states, rarely seen these days. £285

James VI

WSC-7743: 1569 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver Two Thirds Ryal. First coinage, dated 1569 (joint rarest date with 1570), Spink 5474. Known as the “Two Thirds Sword Dollar” and circulated at 20 shillings. However, less than a decade on from when this coin left the mint, specifically in 1578, the price of silver bullion had increased to such a point that the metal content of this coin was literally higher than its face value. Thus it became necessary to revalue the coin from 20 shillings to 24 shillings and 6 pence. This was done to all silver coinage that was in circulation at the time, including issues from the earlier reign of Mary. A counterstamp of a crown over thistle was used to denote the new, higher value of the coin. The coin itself has witnessed some circulation in the 9 years up until its revaluation but the counterstamp itself is fresh and the resultant convex area on the obverse, although visible, isn’t that pronounced which implies the coin didn’t see that much circulation post revaluation. Good provenance, inc Spink – see tickets. A rare date coin with a most interesting story behind it. £785

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

WSC-6885: 1575 Scottish James VI Hammered Silver Half Merk or Noble. Second coinage, rare date. Better grade with an extremely clear date. Spink 5478. £359

WJC-7790: 1582 James VI Hammered Silver Ten Shillings. Fourth coinage, Spink 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-6809: 1599 James VI Hammered Silver Scottish Ten Shillings. Seventh issue, Spink 5493. Nice grade and a desirable date. £425

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 1^st in 1604. Edinburgh mint. An issue of 0.25 fineness. Not quite as good as the better example I have listed but certainly getting there. £185

WSC-7493: 1601 James VI Scottish Hammered Silver PORTRAIT Thirty Pence. Seventh coinage, Edinburgh mint. Spink 5495. A rarer denomination but more, an excessively rare date – the rarest by some margin in the seven year run. Spink rate this date at £675 and as collectors will be all too aware, Spink are famous for under-pricing. A very rare coin indeed being better than the Spink plate coin. £795

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

WSC-7615: 1619 James VI of Scotland Hammered Silver Six Shillings. Tenth coinage, initial mark Thistle, Spink 5508. One of the rarer dates (the Collection of the National Museum of Scotland - Sylloge 70 – contains only one example of this date) although none are easy, in any grade. The National Museum of Scotland’s collection is about as bad in grade as this coin, but then most are. It was a terrible issue, but an extremely rare issue. Ex Chris Comber collection – Chris, a leading light in Tudor coinage, was one of the leading collectors of this issue as a diversion from his main passion. I was fortunate enough to know him and even to supply him occasionally with coinage for his collection, including Scottish six shillings. £265 RESERVED (M.He.6-12-22 Lay-Away)

WSC-7620: 1622 James 1^st Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings - Choice. Tenth coinage, type II, Edinburgh mint. Initial mark Thistle, Spink 5508. An interesting issue in that it’s very easy to mistake this for the English sixpence (indeed, bizarrely, the 1622 English 6d also has initial mark Thistle, 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 1^st and 4^th quarters. I’m not sure this has ever been illustrated before but here’s a comparison of the reverse shields on James 1^st 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! Burns 163 (fig. 986), SCBI 35 (Scottish) 1379, Spink 5508 (this coin illustrated as the Spink plate coin in the 2n edition). The very last Scottish six shillings date, made all the more interesting when you consider that there were no issues in 1620 and 1621. Outstanding provenance: ex Carlyon-Britton, ex Glendining’s (1957), ex R.C. Locket, ex Spnk (1987), ex J.K.R. Murray, ex Spink (2006), ex LaRiviere, ex Davvison’s (2009), ex Chris Comber. All tickets shown here. The Collection of the National Museum of Scotland listed in Sylloge 70 only has the following dates 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 with only the 1619 piece being better than the others and closer in grade to this coin. There is currently a 1615 Scottish six shillings for sale elsewhere, in a very similar grade to this coin but most importantly, WITHOUT any of the impressive provenance of this coin, at £4,500. This is such an impressive coin in both rarity, grade and provenance. Choice. £2,950 RESERVED (M.He.6-12-22 Lay-Away)

Charles 1^st

Silver

WSC-7744: 1625 Charles 1st Scottish Hammered Silver Six Shillings. First coinage, first date in series, Spink 5543. This is an excessively rare issue – Charles’ Scottish coronation didn’t happen until 1633 and no new dies were produced until then. Dies of James VI were altered, under an official directive, and coinage was issued as Charles 1^st using the old, modified dies This resulted in the Twelve Shilling and Six Shilling coins literally having a bust of James VI on the front with just a quick name change to the legend and a tweak or two to the beard. This Charles 1^st Six Shilling issue, along with the James VI Six Shilling issue, often goes well under the radar with many people think these coins are simply English dated sixpences. I refer the reader to the Scottish James VI section of this website for extra information. You might be thinking that this isn’t much of a coin to look at and just looking at it, you’d be correct. However, nice grade examples do not turn up simply because this issue was generally poorly struck using modified, often worn-out dies. The Spink plate coin is a £5,000+ coin. This is one of the rarest Charles 1^st Scottish silver coin issues, if not the rarest. I’d be surprised if this coin didn’t attract a buyer very quickly. £1,245 RESERVED (M.He.9-5-22 Lay-Away)

WSC-6015: Scottish Charles 1^st Hammered Silver Twelve Shillings. Third coinage, 1637 – 1642. Falconer’s second issue, type IV. Spink 5563. The coin is sold with a very old ticket, possibly WW2 period, stating that this coin was purchased for twenty five shillings. £325

WSC-6687: Scottish Charles 1^st Hammered Silver Two Shillings. Fourth coinage of 1642. Spink 5593. Rare. £155

WSC-6946: Scottish Charles 1^st UNRECORDED Hammered Silver Forty Pence. Third coinage, Briot-Falconer transitional issue of 1637-42 with an F (for Falconer) modified from a B (for Briot) below the reverse thistle. At first glance this appears to be a standard B below the reverse thistle, so Spink 5576. However, it’s clearly an F, modified from the earlier B – note the slightly bulbous top vertical and the very start of the bottom bulbous part of the B protruding slightly from the centre, these being the only aspects of the underlying B. Everything else about this letter is an F. See the following image, although please note that all letters have been rotated to the upright for ease of use. There actually is no Falconer 40 pence recorded with an F below, only the B below. However, Briot’s Spink 5576 with a B below is a B lying on its back, facing upwards, whilst this letter is 180 degrees rotated and facing downwards. It’s an F for Falconer and as such, unrecorded. Falconer naturally followed on from Briot during the Third Coinage of Charles 1^st Scottish coins so this coin would appear to be a very rare transition from Briot to Falconer. You’d think that one engraver would be highly unlikely to basically take his predecessor’s dies, churn out coinage and then call them his own by way of putting his mark on them and doing nothing else. However, Nicholas Briot was appointed master of the Scottish mint in 1634 and later joined by his son-in-law, John Falconer, who eventually succeeded him in 1646. By keeping things in the family and having an organic “passing on of the baton”, it becomes much more plausible that Falconer did the above. An interesting coin; potentially the “missing link” between Briot and Falconer. Perhaps it will be termed Third Coinage, type IIA as it certainly comes before Falconer’s first recorded type III. £395

WSC-7674: Stuart Charles 1^st Scottish Hammered Silver Forty Pence. Third coinage, 1637-42, type 1 using Briot dies. Spink 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-6989: Charles 1^st Hammered Silver Scottish Twenty Pence. The rarer second coinage (Briot’s hammered issue) of 1636 only, not to be confused with the later third coinage. Spink 5550. Sold with an old dealer’s ticket together with an information slip and an annotated coin envelope. £145

WSC-5367: Scotland Charles 1^st Hammered Silver Twenty Pence. Third coinage, 1637 – 42. Briot’s machine made issue. £95

Copper

WSC-6874: Scottish Charles 1^st Copper Turner. Earl of Stirling coinage, 1632-39. Spink 5598. Part of a single deceased collection put together from the 1960's onwards with this ticket looking to be dated 1989. Type 1c with im flower over lozenge. £48

Milled Coinage

Charles II

Silver

WSC-7431: 1664 Charles II Scottish FOUR Merks or 53 Shillings and 4 pence. First coinage, first type – a single year issue with the reverse central panel containing LIII and 4, an unlikely combination of Roman numerals (LIII = 54) and the number 4, signifying the face value of this rare, high denomination Scottish silver coin. Spink 5604, Murray 1. Rarer en-medaille die axis (zero degrees die rotation as opposed to the normal 180 degree die rotation). Thomas Simon was commissioned to prepare the dies for this first coinage. The punches for this Four Merk were prepared in London but the actual dies were manufactured at the Scottish mint which had reopened in 1663 the Restoration. The silver content of the coins was 0.917. Large die break on the obverse and a smaller one on the reverse, perpendicular to the large one – the die was well and truly broken at this point in the production so this coin was one of the very last to be made. Ex Baldwins (1986), ex Macdonald collection. Sold with auction slip etc. Two merks are rare enough but I don’t ever recall seeing a four merk coin before. For once, even Spink agree on rarity with this coin. £1,995

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

WSC-6688: 1670 Charles II Scottish Silver Merk. First coinage. Interesting for two reasons: 1. There is a colon after the date and 2. The die axis is 85 degrees which is noted in Spink (p96) as considerably rarer than the standard 180 or en medaille die axis types. £185

WSC-7096: Charles II 1670 Scottish Milled Half Merk or 6s, 8d. First coinage, Spink 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 Spink). Both an interesting and rare offering. £435

WSC-6455: 1671 Charles II Scottish Silver Merk. First coinage. Interesting for two reasons: 1. The grade is much better than usually seen and 2. The die axis is 85 degrees which is noted in Spink (p96) as considerably rarer than the standard 180 or en medaille die axis types. £225

WSC-6697: 1672 Charles II Scottish Silver HALF Merk. First coinage. Spink 5614. Above average for issue. £125

WSC-7745: 1673 Charles II Scottish Milled Silver Merk. First coinage with dies made in London by Thomas Simon. Circulated at 13s 4d with this mark of value in the centre of the reverse. Spink 5611. 6.03g and with a most unusual die rotation of 3h giving this coin a premium. However, there is a much greater premium in the grade – this coin is on an equal footing with the Spink plate coin; the very best example they could source to use as an illustration with all their vast resources and contacts. 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 to live. A very nice coin indeed. £485

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. Spink 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-6096: 1677 Charles II Scottish Silver 1/16^th 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. Interestingly, the only denomination in the series to have a reverse Saltire Cross. High grade for issue. Spink 5624. £325

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. Spink 5622. 180 degree die axis. £110

WSC-5838: 1682 over 1680 Scottish Charles II Silver ¼ 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. Good grade for issue. £235

Copper

WSC-6657: 1677 Scottish Charles II Turner / Bodle. The first date in only a three year issue. Better grade for issue, being actually better than the Spink plate coin, and benefiting from being the rarer LAESSET error issue. Spink 5632 (£200 in the 2015 guide). A desirable coin. £125

WSC-6666: 1677 Scottish Charles II Turner / Bodle. The first date in only a three year issue. Better grade for issue, being actually better than the Spink plate coin. Spink 5630 (£135 in the 2015 guide). £55

WSC-6650: 1677 Scottish Charles II Copper Bawbee or Sixpence. First date in only a three year issue. Spink 5628. Better grade for issue, being about as good as the Spink plate coin. £75

WSC-6651: 1678 Scottish Charles II Copper Bawbee or Sixpence. Second date in only a three year issue. Spink 5628. Better grade for issue, being nearly as good as the Spink plate coin. £65

WSC-6652: 1679 Scottish Charles II Copper Bawbee or Sixpence. Third and rarest date in only a three year issue. Spink 5628. Better grade for issue, being nearly as good as the Spink plate coin. £65

James VII

WSC-7168: 1687 James VII Scottish Silver Ten Shillings. St Andrew’s cross with national emblems. Spink 5641. A high grade example, being actually better than the Spink plate coin. James VII was James II of England. A short reign, brought about due to James’ most unpopular conversion to Catholicism. Prior to this, James had had an excellent term as Duke of York by working alongside greats such as Samuel Pepys and Matthew Wren in improving the state of the Nation. However, his actual reign was an unpleasant episode for all concerned. Interestingly, it wasn’t religion, rather politics that sealed James’ fate - James attempted to impose his Catholic faith by decree; it was a political principle, rather than a religious one, that ultimately led to his removal. This was all because, just like his father, Charles II, and those before him, James totally believed in his principles of absolutism and divine right of kings. James had very little to do with Scotland during his short time as James VII, king of Scotland. It is telling that Scotland, even though James VII produced his son and heir, James Francis Edward (the future Old Pretender), in a Scottish Convention followed that of England by finding that James had "forfeited" the throne and offered it to William and Mary. Sold with a detailed information slip together with a cabinet ticket. A rare coin indeed in this grade. £1,175

James VIII

See Medals, above

William & Mary

WSC-7177: 1694 Scottish William & Mary Silver Five Shillings. Conjoined heads to the left, WM monogram on the reverse. Spink 5665 but the much rarer variation where the second V in GVLIELMVS is an inverted A. I have never seen this variety before although Spink do list it. The exact mintage of this date and denomination was just 3,496 between 5^th Jan to 5^th Dec 1694. This is tiny and just shows you how little Scottish coinage in general was minted. £295

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!), Spink 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!), Spink 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 – Spink don’t think any coins in this grade exist for this year, as evidenced in Spink 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-7477: HIGH GRADE and CHOICE 1692 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, or Rosette, (many people don’t even realise these things have initial marks as the grade seen dictates there is usually nothing to be seen!), Spink 5667. 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 – Spink don’t think any coins in this grade exist for this year, as evidenced in Spink 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. £795

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 Spink 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 Spink – (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

William II

WSC-6921: 1697 William II of Scotland Silver Five Shillings. A rare example of a Scottish five shillings – the vast majority of the few you see will invariably be Queen Anne. A high grade example, being the best I've ever seen and by some margin. Spink 5688. You are not seeing much wear on this coin, rather poor dies / inadequate pressure at the minting stage on the large definition areas, ie the king's bust. Please ignore the aberration of a main image in terms of colouring (I may well need a new camera soon!) and use this image to see the even colouring throughout. £650 in EF in the Spink 2020 price guide (already quite out of date). There are certainly EF areas to this coin. The English (ie Norman) William I and William II were not the same person as the Scottish William I, but Scottish William II and English William III were indeed the same person!! A very rare coin in this grade. £395

Anne

WSC-7483: 1706 Queen Anne Scottish Silver 5 Shillings. A pre Act of Union coin. Toned, high grade (this issue is normally encountered in well circulated grade) thus rare. Ex Spink auction – tickets. Many people are not aware that Anne was second daughter to James II and so when Anne died in 1714, so ended the reign of the Stuarts. A choice coin. £355

1700’s Church “Communion Tokens” (20% max off all marked prices when you buy 2 or more Communion Tokens!!)

WSC-5472: 1748 Scottish Communion Church Token. A very early date indeed. Dull, Perthshire. Burzinski 3585 (image annotation for B number is incorrect). Rare. £25

WSC-4728: 1755 Scottish Communion Church Token. A very early date indeed. Cadder, Lanarkshire. Minister Alexander Dun. Burzinski 1190. Rare. £25

WSC-5473: 1793 Scottish Communion Church Token. An early date. Dull, Perthshire. Burzinski 5029 (image annotation for B number is incorrect). £25

WSC-4730: 1796 Scottish Communion Church token. An early date. Rare. £25

WSC-5700: 1700’s Scottish Communion Church Token. Mortlack, Banffshire. Burzinski 4515. £25

WSC-5701: 1700’s Scottish Communion Church Token. Millbrex, Aberdeenshire. Burzinski 4512. £25

WSC-5702: 1790 Scottish Communion Church Token. Craigend, Perthshire. Minister Robert Forsyth. Burzinski 1262. £25

H174: 1700's Scottish Communion Token "LK" - Apparently Unrecorded in Burzinski. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H173: 1700's Scottish Communion Token - Berwickshire - Burzinski 6841. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H108: 1772 Scottish Communion Token - Larbert, Stirlingshire - Burzinski 2021. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H031: 1791 Scottish Communion Token - Leith, Lothians, Burzinski 4197. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H007: 1775 Scottish Communion Token - Lochgoilphead, Argyll, Burzinski 4167. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

WSC-5943: 1700’s Scottish Communion Church Token. Lairg, Sutherland. Burzinski 4067. £25

WSC-5944: 1799 Scottish Communion Church Token. Liff & Benvie, Angus. Burzinski 4269. £25 RESERVED (P.D.10/8/21)

1800’s Church “Communion Tokens” (20% max off all marked prices when you buy 2 or more Communion Tokens!!)

WSC-5698: 1871 Scottish Communion Church Token. Leven, Fife. Minister John S. Hyslop. Burzinski 4248. £25

H180: 1800's Scottish Communion Token - St Ninians, North Leith, Burzinski 5280. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H169: 1840 Scottish Communion Token - Glasgow, Lanarkshire - Burzinski 4818 VAR. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H168: 1843 Scottish Communion Token - Monzie, Perthshire - Burzinski 4974. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H167: 1835 Scottish Communion Token - Leitholm, Berwickshire - Burzinski 4206. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H112: 1850 Scottish Communion Token - Musselburgh, Lothians - Burzinski 5108. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H111: 1838 Scottish Communion Token - Dalkeith, Lothians - Burzinski 1858. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H078: 1801 Scottish Communion Token - Mains & Strathmartine - Burzinski 4594. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H073: 1802 Scottish Communion Token - Madderty, Perthshire - Burzinski 4581. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25

H034: 1827 Scottish Communion Token - Kinnell, Angus, Burzinski 3832. See image for details. Old collection piece. £25