Cut Penny Question

I picked this up for $6.50 and it was labeled as being Alexander II from Scotland. I am searching around but can't find a match anywhere. The reverse looks to be Scottish for sure but I don't know about the obverse. I can't make out which way is up.

Can anyone help a brotha out? Perhaps @red_spork with your awesome English penny knowledge earlier this evening?

The obverse. I think this might be the right orientation. I feel like I can make out a nose, eye, and mouth facing right.


Reverse:



Tag that it came with:

 

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I would say a piece of eight but its not spanish.

 

Much much smaller than a piece o' eight

 

I think you may be thinking of someone else. I find hammered coinage fascinating but I know nothing about it

 

You're right. I meant @TheRed .
Whoops!

 

Gonna try and bump this just in case it got buried yesterday.
Still looking for a decent source on Scottish hammered coins. Easier said than done.

 

It's described on the label as Spink 5038 - this is the relevant entry:



It's a pricey coin, at least in better condition, so if the attribution is correct you got a good deal.

ATB,
Aidan.

 

Shame it is tough to tell for sure on the obverse about his face. Do you think I have it oriented right?

Thanks for the help too!

 

It looks more like a left-facing head to me - where we see his hair, beard and an eye, which might make it Spink 5037.

ATB,
Aidan.

 

If you were to rotate my original picture, which way would you rotate it? I'm trying to figure it out. My mind isn't matching my image with your images.

 

I could be way off, but I see something like this:


ATB,
Aidan.

 

So sort of like this one but mine is the back half and the eye whereas this is the front and the eye

 

Yes, maybe!

ATB,
Aidan.

 

I tend to agree with @akeady. The portion of the obverse legend visible on this half, ALE(X)AND, should run from about 12h to 6h clockwise. The previous owner may have mistaken the odd chunky line running inside the beading below AND for the scepter but from what I can find of similar examples at CNG, the legend is never in that relation to the portrait. I'm not entirely satisfied but left-facing does seem more likely than right-facing.