PREVIEW: A COLLECTION OF SCOTTISH COINS PART 1: 24 JANUARY

Spanning a period from the reign of William the Lion (1165-1214) to Queen Anne (1702-14), this sale provides a snapshot of Scottish history across almost a millennium.

With estimates starting below £100, this is an accessible collecting field, but as the highlights show, rarities associated with the prominent figures can command far stronger prices, especially where they have previously rested in important collections.

One such is the silver penny for Robert the Bruce (1306-29), offered here. Rarity is a key factor; hoard evidence strongly suggests that there was no coinage minted under Robert the Bruce until sometime shortly after the recovery of Berwick (and its operational mint) in 1318.

Stylistic connections and the high standard of workmanship suggests that experienced moneyers were brought in from the Continent, probably Flanders, to produce a coinage in keeping with Bruce’s concern with the status and dignity of the Scottish crown.

In very fine condition and very rare, it was once part of the Stewartby collection and is estimated at £1,200-1,500.

Robert’s successor on the Scottish throne, David II (1329-1371) provides another highlight, a silver halfpenny with a provenance also from the Stewartby collection.

Just as in England, a dearth of silver being brought to the mint meant that no pennies were struck for two decades from c.1330. They were replaced by a coinage consisting of halfpence and farthings which are rare and sought after today. Their dating is uncertain, perhaps corresponding to the English issues of the 1330s, more likely after David’s return to Scotland in the early 1340s.

A full and round example, in good very fine condition and extremely rare, it also has an estimate of £1,200-1,500.

An earlier coin from the first coinage of Alexander III (1249-1286) played an important part in revising numismatic history. This is because it provided the previously undiscovered obverse die link between the moneyers Walter and Wilam at ‘Kin’, confirming that there was no Renfrew mint.

It had previously been thought that Walter struck coins at Renfrew and Wilam at Kinghorn, mainly because of the lack of any die link between the two moneyers, which this coin now provides.
In very fine condition and excessively rare, it too is guided at £1,200-1,500.