I’m going to forgo the usual ‘brief history’ section as I don’t believe that I can do it justice. Instead, I will only refer to the history of Scotland when it is relevant to its coinage.
I hope this page will eventually give a reign by reign description of Scotland’s long and varied numismatic history.
David I - 1124–1153
King David I (left) and King Malcolm IV (right) depicted in the illuminated M of Malcolm IV's 1159 charter to Kelso Abbey. It is the earliest surviving image of Scottish kings.
Scotlands first native coinage was born out of the Anarchy that plagued much of the reign of King Stephen of England. David sided with the Empress Matilda against Stephen during the civil war. In 1136 he marched into the north of England in support of Matilda’s claims and to secure lands that he believed rightfully belonged to him and his son. King Stephen marched an army north to confront the Scottish incursion. Instead of coming to battle, the two sides agreed on a truce. This truce confirmed David’s and his son’s control of parts of Northern England. This truce would last until 1138 when David launched another invasion of England. This campaign ended in disaster for David. He was defeated at the Battle of the Standard on the 22nd of August, 1138. Luckily for David, Stephen was unable to capitalise on the victory. Instead, Stephen confirmed and expanded David’s and his son’s English possessions.
This invasion gave King David the tools to institute Scotland’s first native coinage. David captured Carlisle in 1136, Carlisle had had a mint established at it in the final years of King Henry I of England’s reign. It has been suggested that David’s earliest coins may have been of Henry I’s last type in the name of King David. Alternatively, the Carlisle mint also struck coins in the name of King Stephen. Most of these coins were likely struck while the mint was under the control of David as Stephen only held Carlisle for less than 2 months prior to the Scottish takeover.
The coins of David’s reign are split into four periods.
Period A
Penny issued at the Carlisle mint in the name of King Stephen
Penny issued at the Edinburgh mint in the name of King David I
These coins were struck from 1136 to the early 1140s. They copy the style of Henry I’s last coinage (Type XV) and Stephen’s cross moline type.
Period B
These coins date from the mid to late 1140s. They generally copy English types of Henry I and Stephen.
Period C
Period C penny of David I
These coins were struck from the late 1140s to the death of King David in 1153. The obverse depicts a profile bust of the king wielding a sceptre. There is a cross fleury on the reverse with pellets or other symbols in the quarters.
Period D
Period D penny of David I
These coins were struck after David’s death and likely make up most of the coinage struck during the reign off David’s successor. They follow the style of the Period C coinage. The distinguishing feature is quality. Period D coins are of much poorer quality than those of the previous issue. The legends are often retrograde, blundered or completely meaningless.
Malcolm IV - 1153–1165
Malcolm IV’s coinage is the rarest of any Scottish monarch. Only a handful of his coins have been recovered and they remain an extreme rarity. Due to the lack of surviving examples the classification of this coinage remains sketchy.
Penny of Malcolm IV
It is likely that Period D coins of David I continued to be struck for most of his reign.
William I - 1165–1214
Great Seal of William the Lion
William the Lion is the first Scottish monarch whose coins survive in large amounts. His coinage can be split into three periods. The early issues were minted from c.1165 to c.1174. They bear a strong resemblance to the coins of David I.
The second was the Crescent and Pellet Coinage which was issued from c.1174 to 1195. Their name comes
from the reverse which features a short cross with a crescent and pellet in each quarter.
William I Crescent and Pellet Coin
It is worth noting that the mints of Edinburgh, Berwick and Roxburgh ceased minting during part of this coinage. William gave up control of the castles of the aforementioned towns to the English king as part of the Treaty of Falaise of 1174. Edinburgh was returned to Scottish control in 1186, 1189 saw the return of Roxburgh and Berwick.
William's final coinage is known as the Short Cross coinage and was introduced in 1195. Its reverse is clearly
modelled on the short cross coinage of Henry II which was introduced 15 years earlier.
Henry II of England Short Cross Penny
The short cross coinage can be split into two phases. Phase A was struck until c.1205 and phase B was struck from c.1205 into the 1230s. The difference between the two is in the royal title. William is presented as ‘REX’ in the phase A coins and as ‘REI’ in the phase B coins.
William I Phase A Short Cross Penny
William I Phase B Short Cross Penny
Alexander II - 1214–1249
Great Seal of Alexander II
The final coinage of William the Lion was struck into the 1230s.
Alexander II only issued short cross coins throughout his reign. The categorisation of these coins follows that
which was laid down in the final coinage of his predecessor.
The first coinage of Alexander II (Phase C) was struck at some point during the 1230s. They are struck in the name of William the Lion but they can be differentiated from William’s coinage as they depict a bearded king, a feature that is repeated on Alexander’s later coinage.
Alexander II Phase C Penny
Alexander’s second coinage (Phase D) was struck from c.1235 to the end of his reign. They are the first coins struck in the name of Alexander and all types feature a bearded bust of the king.
Alexander II Phase D Penny
Alexander III - 1249–1286
16th century depiction of Alexander III
Alexander III pennies are the most common Scottish medieval coins. Alexander’s reign witnessed a vast expansion of the coinage and the introduction of new denominations such as the farthing and halfpenny.
Alexander’s first issue is the ‘transitional coinage’. Following the categorisation of Alexander II it is also known as the Phase E coinage. They follow the style of Alexander II’s phase D coinage. The distinguishing feature is that they depict a beardless king as would be expected since Alexander was only 7 when the coinage commenced in 1249. It was a short lived coinage as it was replaced in 1250.
Alexander III Transitional Coinage (Phase E) Penny
A recoinage was begun in 1250, involving 16 mints throughout the kingdom. It re-coined the previous coinages into a new longcross coinage. The design was based on the long cross coinage of Henry III of England, which was introduced in 1247
Henry III Long Cross Penny
Alexander’s long cross coinage can be categorised into 7 distinct types. Each type features a difference style of bust. They were minted until c.1280.
Alexander III 1st Coinage Type II. Features a youthful bust of the King.
Alexander III 1st Coinage Type VII. Tall bust of the king with a zig-zag like profile.
John Balliol - 1292–1296
Robert I - 1306–1329
David II - 1329–1371
Robert II - 1371–1390
Robert III - 1390–1406
James I - 1406–1437
James II - 1437–1460
James III - 1460–1488
James IV - 1488–1513
James V - 1513–1542
Mary I - 1542–1567
James VI/I - 1567–1625
Charles I - 1625–1649
Charles II - 1649–1651 & 1660–1685
James VII/II - 1685–1688
William II/III & Mary II - 1689–1694
William II/III - 1694–1702
Anne - 1702–1707