Scottish Currency

The first king of Scots to produce his own coinage was David I (1124–53). David I has been regarded as an anglicising force in Scotland, and indeed, the coins bear an uncanny resemblance to those of Stephen, King of England. 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

Scots groats were not issued until the reign of David II. Scots groats were originally also worth fourpence, but later issues were valued at eightpence and a shilling.

The Testoon was produced in France with the new process of mill and screw, being the first milled coinage of Scotland.

The merk was a Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13s 4d (exactly ⅔ of a pound Scots, or about one shilling in English coin), later raised to 14s Scots.^[1] In addition to merks, half-merk and quarter-merk coins were produced with values of, respectively, 7s and 3s 6d, as well as a four-merk coin of 56s (£2 16s).

The first issue weighed 103.8 grains and was 50% silver and 50% base metals,^[2] thus it contained 0.108125 troy ounces of silver, worth about £1 at modern prices.

1538

The Bawbee.

The bawbee was introduced by James V in 1538 valued at sixpence. These carry his 'I5' monogram flanking a crowned thistle, and a large saltire on the reverse with a central crown. There was also smaller half bawbee and quarter bawbee. Around the year 1544 his widow Mary of Guise minted bawbees at Stirling Castle, with the 'MR' cipher, and the cross potent with crosslets of Lorraine on the reverse. The first bawbees of Mary, Queen of Scots issued by the mint at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh carried the cinquefoil emblems of Regent Arran

List of Scottish Coins

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)

Unicorn - Gold, 18 shillings Scots, 1484/5 (James III)

Half-unicorn – Gold, 9 shillings Scots (James IV)

Testoun – silver, 1553. Was produced in France with the new process of mill and screw, being the first milled coinage of Scotland.^[16]

Bawbee – Billon, 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 – Billon, two pence (James VI), later copper.

Bodle – Copper, two pence (Charles II)

Hardhead – also called Lion, billon coin circulated in the reigns of Mary and James VI

Penny – Billon, 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.

List of Scottish monarchs who issued coins

David I (1124–53)

Malcolm IV (1153–65)

William the Lion (1165–14)

Alexander II (1214–49)

Alexander III (1249–86)

John Balliol (1292–96)

Robert the Bruce (1306–29)

David II (1329–71)

Robert II (1371–90)

Robert III (1390–1406)