Scottish Coins &
Tokens
======>Remember,
postage is included<======
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-9002: Bonnie Prince Charlie
Scottish Jacobite Medal - 1749. The Legitimacy of Jacobite
Succession. A highlander squares up with
the legend, "Who can contend with me?
I will leave no stone unturned to obtain that". The reverse an expanded rose with the legend,
"My affairs are at issue" - a reference to the Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle which basically meant that the French (the Jacobites only
friendly state at the time) switched from them to George II of England.
The French king literally pledged himself to not permit any member of
the Stuart family to reside within his territory. As the French Revolution was still some
decades off, this was a serious problem for the Stuarts. This medal, yet another master class in
symbolism, targeted the Stuart partisans to keep the cause alive in the minds
of their friends, although by this point in history, that was virtually all it
was. Medallic Illustrations (ii) 655/358
(listed as RARE), Eimer 624. Sold with
an old ticket and an
even older Baldwin's envelope. A
recent DNW aiction saw one of these sell for £950
hammer (£1,200+ after commission). A
rare medal full of the usual Jacobite symbolism and imagery. £545
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
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 Hexam
(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-6793: Alexander III Rarer 1st
Issue STIRLING Mint Penny. Long
cross & stars, 1250-80. hO(N) RI. ON^S TR – Henri of Stirling. Type III,
SCBI 35, 137/A, S.R.
5043. Old collection piece. A rare Scottish mint. £395
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
2nd Coinage Pennies
WSC-6856: Alexander III Scottish
Hammered Silver Penny. Second
coinage, 1280-86. Edinburgh mint town.
Class E, S.R.
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, S.R.
5056. £145
WSC-6881: Alexander III Scottish
Hammered Silver Penny. Second
coinage, 1280-86. Perth mint town.
Rarer class D, S.R. 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. 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
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 in the old
ticket. £2,850
David II
Groats
WSC-6773: David II Medieval Scottish
Hammered Silver Groat. Third
(Light) coinage, 1367-71 VILLA
EDINBVRGH – Edinburgh mint. S.R. 5125 – star on the base of the
sceptre coupled with trefoils within the tressure. £275
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
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-6093: Robert II Scottish
Hammered Silver Penny. 1371-90, Perth mint. Interesting fact: Robert II’s grandfather was Robert the Bruce. S.R.
5146 – rarer variety. £159
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
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
WSC-8124:
Robert III
Scottish Medieval Hammered Silver Groat.
Heavy coinage, Edinburgh mint. First issue with obverse colon stops and
reverse saltire "colon-esque" legend
terminals. Seven arcs to tressure. The facing bust is not typical of this issue,
being anything but tall. 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. £395
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
James I
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-8145:
James 1st Medieval
Scottish Hammered Silver Groat.
First fleur-de-lis issue, 1406-37 but early on in that reign for this
first issue. Edinburgh mint. Sceptre
to the left - S.R.
5195. 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. 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. This coin is arguably overall better
than the S.R. plate coin,
that being the vest best they could source with all the leading collections
they have access to. Rare. £875
Provenance:
Ex Leland
Scott collection
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
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
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-6799: James V Scottish Stuart
Hammered Billon Silver Bawbee. 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 S.R. 5384.
1.89 grams, 23mm. Rarer
monarch. £235
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-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-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-9119:
1567 Mary Stewart Hammered Silver Ryal
or Crookeston Dollar. Fifth period, 1567
only. Edinburgh mint. S.R. 5429.
This was Mary's second period of widowhood, which might lead you to
believe that she was perhaps unlucky in love but, considering the bigger
picture, that was perhaps one of her lesser problems. Henry Darnley was assassinated 10th February 1567. This particular year is a numismatic anomaly
in that it saw an issue from Mary & Henry as well as this single year issue
from just Mary. You would perhaps think
that because Henry Darnley died only six weeks into 1567 that the joint issue
would be the rarest. In fact, that is not
the case - this 1567 single monarch issue is the rarer of the two. The reclining "9" at the end of the
reverse legend was a contemporary device for indicating a contraction - we
would today use an apostrophe. It's
something you rarely see but when it does pop up, it's usually associated with
James VI / James 1st coinage. There is a
shilling of James 1st listed on this website with the very same feature. Some very old graffiti on the reverse
field. A rare issue, rarer so with the
reclining "9" at the end of the reverse legend. £1,175 RESERVED (E.M.7-4-25 LayAway:
out on approval)
Provenance:
ex Simon Monks & Brian Reed (S&B
Coins), 1996
Ex Baldwin's - their ticket,
incorrectly attributed
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-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
WSC-9045:
1565 Mary and Henry
Darnley Scottish Hammered Silver Two Thirds Ryal. Fourth period, circulated at 20
shillings. Edinburgh mint. Obv: +MARIA & HENRIC DEI GRA R & R
SCOTORV and totally different to the 1565 first issue Ryal,
no images of either Mary or Henry. S.R. 5426. Mary became queen at only seven days
old. She married Lord Henry Darnley
(second marriage) in 1565 - this coin very much from that union period. Darnley was killed in an explosion in 1567,
thereby bringing this date run to an abrupt end. It is interesting to note that this reverse
die was struck 156- in order to insert the appropriate final digit as and when. Unusual to find this denomination NOT counterstamped
under Mary's son (Darnley was officially the father), the future James VI of Scotland and James 1st of England. Scottish circulation was much more intense than
south of the border due to lack of sufficient coinage physically in
circulation, so that, coupled with the inadequate and shallow-sunk dies, led to
very, very few coins of this type or similar ending up in anywhere near VF
today. £1,365
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
WAu-9046:
1602 James VI Hammered
Gold Sword & Sceptre Piece of 120 Shillings. Eighth gold coinage (1601-4), struck in 22ct
gold whilst James was still only James VI of Scotland. Edinburgh mint. Obv: +IACOBVS 6 D.G.R. SCOTORVM. S.R.
5460. It is generally accepted that
Scottish coinage is much more attractive than its English counterpart,
especially from the James V until 1603 period when James ascended the English
throne and, by necessity, the two country's followed a more unified path in
terms of coinage. This Sword &
Sceptre piece is absolutely no exception to that aesthetic appraisal. As such, these coins often turn up impaired;
being found mounted or pierced in order to display on the body in the form of
jewellery. Gold coins are also
frequently found with bite marks and creases, often straightened but always
leaving a crease mark. This coin is a
superb example with none of that, although it has been cleaned at some point in
its 420 year life. Scottish coins of
quality are increasing in value seemingly overnight; gold coinage much more so,
which is the main reason I can no longer offer Lay-Away on any gold coins. Here you have both an investment opportunity
together with a seriously attractive coin to potentially go into your
collection. £2,895
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-6015: Scottish Charles 1st
Hammered Silver Twelve Shillings. Third
coinage, 1637 – 1642. Falconer’s second
issue, type IV. S.R. 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-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-6946: Scottish Charles 1st
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 S.R. 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
S.R. 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 1st 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-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-6989: Charles 1st
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. S.R. 5550.
Sold with an old dealer’s ticket together with an information slip and
an annotated coin envelope. £145
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
Copper
WSC-6874: Scottish Charles 1st
Copper Turner. Earl of Stirling
coinage, 1632-39. S.R. 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-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-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 S.R.
(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, 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-6697: 1672 Charles II Scottish
Silver HALF Merk.
First coinage. S.R. 5614. Above average for issue. £125
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-6096: 1677 Charles II Scottish
Silver 1/16th 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. S.R.
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. S.R.
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
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
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 S.R. plate coin,
and benefiting from being the rarer LAESSET error issue. S.R.
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 S.R. plate
coin. S.R. 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. S.R. 5628. Better grade for issue, being about as good
as the S.R. plate
coin. £75
WSC-6651: 1678 Scottish Charles II
Copper Bawbee or Sixpence. Second
date in only a three year issue. S.R. 5628. Better grade for issue, being nearly as good
as the S.R. plate
coin. £65
WSC-6652: 1679 Scottish Charles II
Copper Bawbee or Sixpence. Third and
rarest date in only a three year issue. S.R. 5628. Better grade for issue, being nearly as good
as the S.R. plate
coin. £65
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
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. S.R. 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 S.R. 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
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-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
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
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
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
