Scotland - Gold Half Unit - Charles I Briot Issue - TONED!

Scotland, Charles I (1625-49), gold Half-Unit or Double Crown, Nicholas Briot's coinage (1637-42), crowned and draped bust left to bottom of coin, Scottish styled crown on head with lis over central cross pattee, B below for Briot, Latin legend and beaded borders surrounding both sides, CAR. D: G. MAG. BRIT. FRAN. ET. HIB. REX, rev. crowned quartered shield of arms, crowned C with lozenge below to left, crowned R with lozenge below to right, VNITA. TVEMVR. Lozenge stops, weight 4.96g (Burns 6 fig. 1035; S.5534). Light adjustment marks in fields around head and corresponding part of reverse, short of flan at one part of rim, lightly toned, otherwise good very fine and scarce.

The Lords of Secret Council had sanctioned the use of Briot's mill and screw press for the minting of coinage on the 12th January 1637, at first for silver coins only, however, from 19th October 1637 a warrant was issued to strike gold coins from gold supplied from the Guinea coastline by the African Company. Direction was given on 14th December 1637 to Nicholas Briot and his son-in-law John Falconer at Edinburgh to issue Units, Halves and Quarters in the same specification as the first issue albeit now machine made by the screw press. The "English Crown" version was struck and issued first before the crown discrepancy was noticed and subsequently the altered "Scottish Crown" version was issued. Therefore the coin shows the die alteration which is denoted by a fleur de lis engraved over the cross pattee at centre of the crown.

The Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Charles, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland" and on the reverse "These united, we guard."

Provenance:

Ex A H Baldwin, Fixed Price List, Winter 2013, item SC010.