Here is a Scottish penny I picked up of Alexander III. They get pricey & was happy to get it below the going rate. Alexander III (1249 - 1286 A.D.) AR Penny Scotland, Second Coinage Class MB2 O: ม ΛLЄXΛ(ND)ЄR DЄI GRΛ, crowned head left R: + RЄX SCO TOR VM, long cross pattée, with 24 points on mullets in quarters. Berwick Mint .99g 23mm Burns 45 (fig. 179); Stewart & North 14; SCBI 35 (Ashmolean & Hunterian) 231; SCBC 5054
Sweet coin @Mat it's a great purchase. I think the pennies of Alex III are some of my favorite Scottish coins.
My LCS had one just like this the other day. Very nice coin indeed. I love the cross, makes them look old.
@Mat , I've already complained to @Aethelred that seeing these has sparked some interest in learning about these AR Pennies - I suppose I'll have to eventually succumb to the temptation if you guys keep showing off such awesome coins!
What a great coin! I enjoy the overall "look" of this Penny. I am always amazed how much "coin" that was minted, being 23mm and only 1g of silver! I have a mental block moving into the Medieval Period of History... And I am of Keltic blood... But @Mat (as well as @FitzNigel , et al), watching the Medieval pounded coinage has been very enticing for me. Alex III of Scotland would definitely be a target of mine! I have a hard time collecting past 200 CE, and gravitate to ca 200 BCE! That is a very nice capture! Nice... I do have a couple coins that are CONTEMPORANEOUS to that time... interesting contrast of cultures during the same time period! EGYPT around that time: Egypt Mamluk Qalaun 1279-1290 CE AR Dirham Dianeshq SRI LANKA / INDIA around that time: Bhuvanaika Bahu CE 1273-1284 Æ Massa 3.9g 19mm King throne solar symbol altar flame lotus - King reclining sankh-conch Nagari-Sri Bhuvanaika Bahu MNI 851-52 LOL, what, The Rest of the World (Eurasia)? around this time... Mongols-Ghazna Genghis Khan 1206-1227 CE AE Jital Islamic RARE - only The Just Kahn in title
Cool medieval Mat! Exactly what is a "mullet"? A star? I don't see a fish or a sweet hair style anywhere on there. Business up front, party in the back!
A spur rowel with five/six points (a common heraldic symbol of the scottish clans). e.g. Clan Jardine, Moray, etc
