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Scottish Coins ~ William I (1165-1214)
William I ruled Scotland from 1165 until the end of his life in 1214. His reign was uncommonly long for a Scottish monarch, but was notable mainly for making peace with England after being captured Henry II in 1174. To obtain the independance back from England he subsequently would pay Richard I the sum of 10000 marks, most of this was paid in pennies. William I was known contemporarily as William "The Lion", this was due to his use of the Lion on his arms. This penny was struck posthumously between 1214 and 1230. The most notable feature of this issue was that the mintmasters of Perth and Edinburgh worked together to mint this, thus on the reverse, the names Hue and Walter are on there, it can only be quessed which city was the actual mint. Another curious feature of this particular coin is the use of five points stars in the shape of a comet, it has been said that these may have been issued during the appearance of a comet over Scotland. I am researching to determine if this may have actually occured.
A common practice prior to the advent of the halfpenny and farthing during the reign of Alexander III(1249-1286) was the cutting of pennies to provide much needed small change, this is an example of a William I penny that was cut to make change for smaller purchases. The moneyers on this are also Hue - Walter.
This particular piece is a bit of an enigma, it came in a large hoard of mainly English cut farthings and halfpennies which were dug up in Northern England. The reverse suggests a Scottish coin, the reverse whilst similar to some of the William I pennies has a distinctive treatment of the portrait which is in the least unusual. See the following image for more coins from this hoard.
The above image is of some Scottish cut farthings and halfpennies, many of these date from the reign of William I, however one of the cut farthings appears to be from Prince Henry, whom was the son of David I of Scotland. Small change was of course scarce, and to make smaller purchases such as food items, the cutting of coins into halfs, and quarters was necessitated. These coins were part of a larger hoard of coins which I purchased recently, that was mostly English, but included these Scottish, and even an Irish coin. All of these coins were pre Edward I era coins, and some of the English pieces dated back to the reign of Henry II. Collecting coins from this reign is challenging, but rewarding, it is the earliest Scottish reign in which coins can be obtained, while still pricey, they are not unreasonable given their scarcity. Cut farthings and halfpennies have been found in quantities in hoards, they are quite reasonable for the budget minded collector. Pennies are a bit scarcer, particularly in nicer grades. It should be noted that many of the coins struck in the name of William I were likely struck posthumously during the reign of Alexander II (1214-1216). |
Page last updated on 5th August 2011 Года All pages and images copyright © David Parrish 1999 - 2011 Года
