krasnaya_vityaz

James V would have the distinction of being the first of three Scottish monarchs in succession who would inherit the throne during the time they were still infants. His father, James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden, after coming to the aid of the Scottish allies, the French, who were at war with the English. The earliest part of his reign was a regency under his mother, Margaret Tudor, but as she was the sister of Henry VIII of England, she not popular. James attained majority at the age of 16, and soon entered into a five year peace treaty with Henry VIII. James V married Madeleine, the daughter of the King of France in 1537, but she died seven months after coming to Scotland. Thereafter he married Mary of Guise in June of 1538, they had two sons who died in infancy in 1541, and whose deaths were followed by their Grandmother, Margaret Tudor. With her death, conflict with Henry VIII became inevitable, and the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542. James V had then entered into a period of depression that would only end with his death at the comparatively young age of 30. He left the throne to Mary, aged only seven days. The coin pictured above is a billion bawbee or Scottish sixpence, of .250 fineness which was minted from 1538-1542 and would soon become one of the most common coins in circulation in Scotland during that time. The face of the coin has a thistle, and the reverse a St. Andrews Cross within a crown and flanked by two fleur de lis.

For the next coin in my collection, I skip a few reigns and go to James III (1460-1488) This is a copper penny, by now the penny had devalued to the point at which it was no longer issued in silver or even billon. These pieces are often referred to as Crosraguel Pennies, after the abbey where a hoard of them were found. These coins have been the subject of much conjecture as to their issue, some sources state that they were issued by Bishop Kennedy in St. Andrews, others cite the Scottish crown as the issuer of these coins. Until the find of this hoard these pieces were quite rare, and whilst still scarce, the location of this hoard brought many examples to the market. This piece has an orb on one side with the legend "Iacobus Dei Gra Rex - James by the grace of God King, and on the reverse it has a cross with the legend Crux Pellit Oie Crim, the cross drives away all sin. Whilst these pieces were notably unpopular because of the lack of silver, they apparently did see considerable circulation as they are very scarcely encountered in higher grades of preservation. It is again conjectured that these pieces were called in and removed from circulation, which led to few finds later on until the hoard find in 1919.

Despite David II’s two marriages, neither of his wives ever gave birth to an heir. However at his death the line of primogeniture had been more clearly defined and a clear candidate was available, Robert Stewart, whom was David’s older nephew. Robert Stewart was the son of Marjorie Bruce (daughter of Robert I) and Walter, the sixth High Steward of Scotland. At his birth he was recognised as the probable direct heir of Robert I, however the birth of Robert I’s son, David in 1324 changed this. Robert II was the first of an over three hundred year line of Stewart monarchs and Robert II’s resume at his accession was more promising than other kings when they inherited the throne. He had in fact, ruled Scotland during David’s exile in France in the 1330’s- until 1341 and then again after David II’s captivity in England from 1346 – 1357. During these times there were some in Scotland whom regarded him as more fit for the kingship than his uncle. The result of this was much discord betwixt uncle and nephew. In his personal life, Robert II married twice, the first time apparently to a cousin of his, this marriage ended with her death. His second marriage was regarded as more legitimate in the eyes of his contemporaries, as this was to Euphemia, the daughter of the Earl of Ross. The result of these two marriages were fourteen children, so the lines of succession were tested as many believed the first marriage was not valid because of their familial relationship. This reign saw something of a dark era in Scottish history, the after effects of the Black Death were beginning to be seriously affecting the population, church, and the economy of Scotland. Revenues from taxation shrunk, and subsequently the government became much less effective than in years past. In approximately 1384 Robert II began to yield some of the responsibilities of governing Scotland to his son, John, whom would later become Robert III on his accession to the throne. The 1380’s brought skirmishes with the contestants for the English throne, including a raid by Richard III in 1385. Numismatically this reign differed only very slightly from that of David II. All of the coins from this reign are quite similar, in fact, they differ only slightly with the placement of Robert II’s name instead of David II. The portraiture remained quite similar with only insignificant changes. Only silver groats, halfgroats, pennies, and halfpennies were coined. The only appreciable difference for collectors is the somewhat greater variety of mints available. Coins were minted in Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee. The Edinburgh coins are reasonably common, especially in lower grades, and are within a reasonable price range for collectors. The coinages of the Perth and Dundee mints are somewhat scarcer, however they are still collectably priced. The groats are probably the most common coin of this reign, the halfpenny probably the scarcest. There are rare and significantly valuable varieties of the penny extent. Denominations used during this reign(all in silver): Groat or 4d Halfgroat or 2d Penny or 1d Halfpenny or 1/2d.

This piece is a groat or 4d coin. This coin is from the first heavy issue of Groats and was presumably minted in the late 1350's. This piece was minted in Edinburgh, as most coins were by now. A curious feature makes this piece very rare, in the 1968 reprint of the Robertson catalog it was noted as a unique example, now there are believed to be 5-6 of this 7 arcs of the tressure around David II's head variety known. This piece is thusly my rarest example of a Scottish coin. Later in the reign of David II the inevitable greed perhaps caused by debts caused the reduction in the value of the coinage, a problem that plaqued Scotland far worse than England. New coinage was of course issued in a lighter standard, believed to have been noted by the star on the Kings's sceptre on the obverse of this piece. This particular piece was a very fortunate purchase, it may well be the best known example of this particular star on sceptre piece known. The reign of David II is one of my favourite of Scottish monarchs, whilst fewer coins were issued overall in comparison to Alexander III and in fewer mints, the new denominations add interests to this reign.

The release of David II and this promise are surmised to have been the impetus behind the release of a newer coinage, with larger denominations. Presumably much of this coinage was sent to England early on in payment of the debt to Edward III. This Edinburgh penny is of a newer and better executed design. As noted, for the first time larger multiple denominations of pence were first minted with this new coinage, this is a half groat or 2d from this reign. It is rather fiendishly more scarce than either the penny or groat, having not been a popular denomination for some reason.

Unfortunately Lady Luck have not been generous in affording me the opportunity to avail a purchase of a Robert I coin, so I must skip forward to his son, David II(1329-1371) Whilst during the reign of Alexander III huge numbers, comparitively speaking, of pennies were minted, and provided the largest number of coins available to later collectors, the next early monarch under whom many coins were minted was David II. The large number of coins was not all that made this reign remarkable, it was also remarkable for the introduction of newer denominations, notably the half groat, the groat, and a rare gold Noble. The first coins bearing David II regnal name were minted ca. 1332 and were rather crude in approach to execution of design and minting technique. Thereafter no further coins were probably minted for approximately another 25 years. David II was captured at the battle of Nevilles Cross in 1342 and spent the rest of his youth in captivity albeit a rather luxuriant captivity in the court of Edward III of England. He was released in 1357 having spent nearly 13 years in England. Of course he was not released without promise on his part, a large sum was promised to Edward III in return for his release.

As noted above, the city of Berwick was pivotal in the struggle betwixt Scotland and England during the 12th through the 14th centuries. Whence the Scottish Kingdom was temporarily subdued under English domination, Berwick was of course back in English control, and Edward I pennies were minted in Berwick. Probably because of the distance from London, unique and somewhat cruder dies were likely manufactured locally for Berwick's penny output Coins tended to be abit cruder, and were not struck up as well due to primitive conditions which existed at Berwick. This coin was likely struck between ca. 1302-1307. Whilst strictly speaking this was an English coin, and violates my Scottish only rule for this thread, it is included for completeness in telling the history of Scottish coinage. It should be noted that the majority of coins circulating in Scotland were curiously not of Scottish design, but rather English. Until the reign of David II and the resulting devaluations, Scottish and English coins traded at par with one another.

My next earliest piece is from the reign of Alexander III(1249-1286) He was a significant monarch in Scottish history, mainly for his defeat of the Vikings in a battle in 1263 which added the Western Isles to the Scottish Kingdom. He also reigned during a time of increased trade with England and Europe. The demise of his reign resulted in chaos, his only heir being his grandaughter in Norway, whom died on her way to Scotland whence she was 6 years old. This piece was one of the early coins struck during this reign and significantly it was struck in the city of Berwick, which during that time was proximate to silver mines. Of course English know Berwick now as an English city, but early in the last millenium it actually changed hands several times, the last time being in the early 14th century, from thence Berwick has been an English possession. During the reign of Edward I locally created dies were created for Berwick minted English pennies, this having been necessitated by the distance from any other mint cities in England. Then early in the reign of Robert I of Scotland Berwick again changed hands and briefly minted coins which are the sole issue for Robert Bruce of Scotland.

Thought it would be kind of interesting to pique some interests in Scots coinages: http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/pre...lliamipenny.jpg This is my earliest piece, it was posthumously struck in William I (1165-1214) name probably early in the 13th century. It bears the name Hue Walter, and was minted in either Perth or Edinburgh jointly. http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/pre...imal/7coins.jpg The early coins in Scotland, as well as England were solely pennies. Of course this was not convenient for smaller transactions, so often times the coins were halved or quartered, these pieces were in with a hoard of approximately 100 other cut coins mainly from England, but also a couple from Ireland and even one from Denmark.

One of the more cocked up dates I have heard of was a Scottish ryal from 1567 which on the coin was dated 15567. Now that was a forward thinking Scotsman.

One of the interesting phenomenons of the recent Chinese forgeries of so many coins is the erroneously out of range dates, for instance dating a British Trade Dollar 1967 etc. Kind of curious how they can get the legends correct etc, but then foul up on the date. I wonder if this coin was artificially worn to give it the "used appearance" or if it actually circulated for awhile?

Oh that was quite alright, I enjoyed viewing it all thanks.

I look forward to seeing the future titles that are in the works.

Who says there is just one, there are three others, we are just coming from a wee farther aways than Chris had planned on. He offered, we bit

No apologies necessary, your kind offer is duly accepted still I will get on the horn with BA shortly.

My word, you are a true gentleman. We will be flying in from North America Actually I wish I could come, but I have business out on the West Coast of the USA unfortunately. I will be in Oxford and London, but not until early 2006.

Thanks for sharing your Namur penny, I am glad to finally see an image of what I am talking about. I have seen them at shows recently, but they are a bit like phantoms, they are just here and there and not everywhere.

Will you kindly cover my expenses as offered? I have two young and quite inquisitive collectors, they are specialising in pre-dec and Eastern Europe. We would very much enjoy the show and would kindly repay with kind within our environ

Northumbrian Sceats surely must have been minted in substantial numbers, especially those from the 9th century. 15 years ago you could get them fairly easily, now they are right pricey, particularly in choice condition. I have read that some conservative estimates of the numbers of pennies minted during the reign of Edw I were 50.000.000 pennies. That is really a huge number, considering that England was considerably more sparsely populated then and had lost many to the Black Death in the 1350's and 1360's. Unfortunately with the exception of tax slips there is not alot of record of transactions during that time that suggest real purchasing values for pennies beyond an assumption that a penny was the average wage for a worker, which I believe in my opin is rather presumptive.

There's a difference between £SD and LSD? I think £SD have the same effect on me, but is rather less harmful in the health outlook longterm. In fact be known that it is probably beneficial, appreciating in value and so fun to play with. Playing coin hoarder is fun. At least I feel rich having 6000+ coins weighing in at 50+ kilos and worth a mere £84

I live in a house, an English Tudor no less, that was built in 1933. I like to fancy that perhaps there is gold buried somewhere garage somewhere. I have almost thought a metal detector would suit fine.

LSD No no no, that is £SD It has longer lasting effects and is not harmful to body and spirit(at least as long as I don't hae to heft it that is.

'Owwch!' That was an insult at a price like that! From what i've seen on websites and dealers lists it could have been double, that! Someone got a hell of a bargin there. But don't worry in the world of coins you sometimes get disappointed, but there'll be a time in the future when you'll get a good deal on something. Swings and roundabouts. It went to a well known collector in Ohio USA whom knew what he was getting, it was going for his personal collection so at least that was okay. I still sold it for more than I paid for it a long time ago. I don't have any high end English now, only VF or F examples of Edw I and Edw II. I even sold my Irish, and I had some nice Waterford pieces at one time.

Every once in awhile I will see something from Germany or Belgium with unique legends for their monarch's name and the actual mint city, but in every other respect it looks like a contemporary English penny. English pennies were well represented in the Brussels hoard of 1908, so there is proof they circulated on the continent, and of course the millions minted in England, surely they left in droves with the greatly increased trade between England and the low countries and the Hanse cities in Germany.

Curiously I inquire, does this fall under the "Treasure Trove" law, because of the number of coins and their precious metal content? Is there a date cutoff for "Treasure Trove" finds?