Everything about Scottish Coinage totally explained
The
coinage of Scotland covers currency issued under a variety of local and national rulers, including the
Kingdom of Scotland. For coins circulating in Scotland since the Act of Union with England in 1707, see
coins of the pound sterling.
Early History Roman trade (c 138AD - 400AD)
The earliest
coins in
Scotland were introduced by the
Roman provinces of Britain that were obtained from trade with the westernmost outpost of the Rome. Far from being isolated the Celts of
Caledonia north of
Hadrian's Wall, developed trade to the general benefit of the population, to the north of the Wall. Examples include coinage of
Constantine II (337-342) are occasionally found in the south of Scotland. In 410 AD trade ceased as the Roman Empire withdrew from the island of Britain.
Early medieval period
As the Roman Empire retreated from the
British Isles various kingdoms sprouted up to the south of Scotland. One of these
Northumbria, soon expanded into the north as far as the
kingdom of Strathclyde. Thus it controlled the southern parts of what is now Scotland, and the bronze
Sceat coins of the Northumbrian Kings circulated freely in what is now Scotland. This coin was issued from 837-854 AD. It is possible that the
Norse also introduced some form of coinage, and coins from as far away as
Byzantium and the Arabic countries have been found in sites in
Scandinavia, including
Norway which has strong links with Scotland in the early Middle Ages.
Scottish Crown (c 1100 - 1600)
The first king of Scots to produce his own coinage was
David I (1124-1153). David I has been regarded as an anglicising force in Scotland, and indeed, the coins bear an uncanny (but cruder) resemblance to those of King Stephen. The Penny was minted at Berwick, and had his name as "Tavit". The reverse had a short cross with pellets in the four quarters. Later in his reign coins were minted in
Berwick,
Roxburgh and
Edinburgh. By 1250, the country had no less than 16 mints, scattered from
Inverness to
Berwick. Later influences for Scottish coinage were the German speaking lands and France, both of which would contribute names such as "dollar" (
Thaler), "testoon" (from
French tête
meaning
head, on account of the portrait on it), and "merk" (or "mark").
In
1485, according to IH Stewart, the groat bore "the first real coin portrait to be seen north of the
Alps".
During the 16th century, production of coinage moved entirely to
Edinburgh, although
Stirling produced one issue of
bawbees.
Union of the Crowns(1603- )
With the Union of the Crowns in 1603, Scottish coins became more closely based on English models, rather than Continental ones. At this period, it was still not uncommon for coins to be used in more than one country, partly because of their metal value. During the reign of
Charles I, mechanical minting was introduced.
One of the articles of the Treaty of Union stipulated that Scotland was to keep its own mint, but this, as with many others, hasn't been followed.
Production ceased a mere two years after Union, and the mint itself was abolished in
1817. However, this has still met with a low level of protest, mentioned by Sir
Walter Scott, and protested against by Nationalist pamphlets into the
1950s and beyond. Scotland is the only part of the UK where one pound notes are still in usage (although they can be found in the
Isle of Man and
Channel Islands)
The transition from Scottish coinage to English didn't occur overnight. Scottish coinage was still in circulation in the later 18th century, but the changeover was made a little easier due to common currency in the nomenclature. “Pound Sterling” is still translated as “Punnd Sasannach” (English pound) in
Scottish Gaelic (External Link
)(External Link)(External Link) Certain old coin names, such as "bawbee"
(External Link), continued in colloquial usage into the 20th century. Others, such as “mark” and “dollar”, would be more associated with various foreign currencies by contemporary Scots.
Currently, three Scottish banks produce their own banknotes (
Bank of Scotland,
Royal Bank of Scotland and
Clydesdale Bank), but no coinage.
List of Scottish coins
As with
Scottish weights and measures, many of the Scottish denominations bore the same names as those in England, but were of slightly different values. The dates, and first kings to issue them are included:
- Pistole – Gold, 12 pounds Scots
- Dollar – Replacement for the ryal, 60 Scots shillings (James VI)
- Ryal – Gold, 1565
- Crown or Lion – Gold (James I)
- Half-crown, Demi-Lion or Demys – Gold (James I)
- Ducat or “bonnet” - 40 shillings, 1539 (James V)
- Mark or merk – Gold (giving rise to the term markland)
- Noble – Gold, worth half a mark, 1357 (David II, reintroduced by Robert III)
- Testoon – silver, 1553. Was produced in France with the new process of mill and screw. It's the first milled coin of Scotland.
- Bawbee – Bullion, six pence from 1537
- Shilling
- Groat – Silver, equivalent to four pence, from 1357 (giving rise to the term groatland)
- Half-groat – Silver, equivalent to two pence, from 1357
- Turner – Bullion, two pence (James VI), later copper.
- Bodle – Copper, two pence (Charles II)
- Penny - Bullion, one of the earliest coins, dating from David I. Later made of copper; giving rise to the term pennyland.
- Halfpennies – Initially literally half of a penny, these became minted coins in their own right in c.1280. Later made of copper.
- Farthing or quarter-penny - These were originally quarters of pennies, but as with Halfpennies, became coins in their own right in c.1280. Later made of copper.
- Plack
Scottish monarchs who issued coins
David I (1124-1153)
Malcolm IV (1153-1165)
William the Lion (1165-1214)
Alexander II (1214-1249)
Alexander III (1249-1286)
John Baliol (1292-1296)
Robert the Bruce (1306-1329)
David II (1329-1371)
Robert II (1371-1390)
Robert III (1390-1406)
James I (1406-1437)
James II (1437-1460)
James III (1460-1488)
James IV (1488-1513)
James V (1513-1542)
Mary (Mary Queen of Scots) (1542-1567)
James VI (1567-1625)
Charles I (1625-1649)
Charles II (1660-1685)
James VII (1685-1688)
William & Mary (1689-1694)
William II (1694-1701)
Anne (1701-1714) (no coins after Union)
Notes
References and further reading
Donald Bateson. Scottish Coins. Shire Book, Bucks, 1987, ISBN 0852638477
Jean Belaubre. Dictionaire de Numismatique médiévale occidentale. Paris, Léopard d'Or, 1996. ISBN 2-86377-121-3
Mackay - Mussel (eds.): Coin Price Guide to British coins 1066- Token Publishing Ltd, Axminster, Devon ((External Link))
Ian Halley Stewart. The Scottish Coinage, Spink & Son, London, 1955
"Coinage" - in Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland (ed. Keay & Keay, 1994)Further Information
Get more info on 'Scottish Coinage'.
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