Quote: "Moneytane"Yes, but the act of Union was not until 1707 and even though when James became king of England in 1603 and it was known as Great Britain - it was not formalised until 1707. The copper coins were issued in 1672 when it was still formally coinage for the Kingdom of England and possibly Wales.
The Scots had their own coins right up to 1707, the unfortunate Darien scheme was part of the reason anschluss with England was necessary.
I agree with your views on Scottish copper, experiments in the 15th century and definitely copper bawbees by the 1530s in the reign of James V (Just like in France, where copper coins started appearing around the same time).
Ah. I had assumed you meant the island of Great Britain since the coin pre-dated 1707, hence why I mentioned earlier Scottish forays into copper coinage.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Charles II halfpennies circulated in Scotland in some quantity. They were a similar size and had the same exchange values as the native copper Bawbee. Its not an era I know an awful lot about so I couldn’t be sure, but it’d be well worth looking into.
The James V and Mary bawbees were made of billon [25% silver, 75% copper]. Metallurgical examination has suggested that the surface of these coins were likely treated to make them look more silvery, but a lot of surviving examples do have a coppery look to them.
Pure copper coins were generally a later development in western Europe. France introduced them in 1575, Spain in 1596 and England in 1613. I suppose that is one of factors that make James III’s copper currency so interesting. It was extremely unpopular and, if my memory serves me right, at least one of his officials was lynched for being connected with their issue.
Also I was going to add a 1665 for yesterday, but could not
find my pictures (if I made any at the time). It would have been >
1665 - France
Lettering: A RECTO NVMQVAM DEFIECIIT
Holed 1663 1/10th écu of Louis XIV's young bust with long locks; the mintmark is barely visible but it's an ampersand (&), meaning this coin was struck in Aix-de-Provence.
Felipe IV España (1621 a 1665).
Taller: Trujillo (Cáceres).
Ensayador: Miguel Melchor( ensayó cobres con busto desde 1660 a 1664).
Valor: 8 maravedís (cobre + plata)= 2 gr. y 12 mm. diámetro.
PHILIPPVS IIII D. G.
HISPANIARVM REX 1662.