Pennies in 90 percent bronze and 10 percent silver were the first of very few coins struck in Scotland bearing a portrait of Mary, this as an infant. This particular coin is from the first coinage with the portrait of Mary with an arched crown, a particularly rare coin, struck in small quantities, and one of the few with Mary crowned on a coin. The legend on the front of the coin is + MARIA D G R SCOTORVM whilst the reverse is OPIDVM EDNBVR. Portrait coins from Queen Mary are very very rare, for the most part her monogramme was used on coinage.
That's an interesting piece. I've never heard of a 90% bronze 10% silver coin. (It's a hammered coin, correct?)
You've heard of billon coins - yes ? Well, that's what this is, a billon coin. The term is applied to coins with silver in them but less than 50% silver. Usually it is much less than 50%. And yes it is a hammered coin. Milled coinage did not start in Great Britain until the 1670's if memory serves.
Very nice coin. I had forgotten that there was ANY portrait coinage of Mary issued. If you're ever in the mood to share images of the rest of you Scottish collection, please do!
Lol, I know that feeling. Well, given the fact that I can actuall afford a mediocre milled sixpence, I'd say they're common enough.
Several denominations, but the guild of mint workers was completely against the idea of machine made coinage - think of them as the GM autoworkers of the 16th century. They got their way for over 100 years. See, milled coins were not as labour intensive as hand struck coins. It took the English Civil War of 1642-1648, the Commonwealth, and the resultant dearth of coinage to finally convince the mint that milled coins were the better option. Hammered coins continued to circulate in England until 1696 when they were all called in and recoined into milled coins. They continued circulating in Scotland until 1708-9 when they were called in and re-issued in sterling denominated coinage.
I've visited there before, without ever making the connection! Very well written. Have you ever considered publishing a beginner's guide?
