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Scottish Crown Variety of the Briot Gold Half Unit of Charles I
1284 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 central fleur de lis
(engraved over an English cross), B below for Briot, Latin legend and beaded borders surrounding both
sides, CAR. D: G. MAG. BRIT. FRAN. ET. HIB. Rex, small x at end of legend, 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 4.92g (Burns 6 fig. 1035; S.5534; Fr.58; KM.54). Light adjustment marks
on the breast, hairline scratch on forehead to field, light red patchy tone, otherwise a bold Very Fine and
unusual with the tiny terminal X to legend,
rare.
$8,000
Ex Angus Sutherland Collection, Spink Coin Auction 64, 23rd June 1988, lot 121.
Ex Spink Coin Auction, 28th March 2012, lot 1005.
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 De-
cember 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 “Scottish Crown” version
was struck later than the “English Crown” version as the fleur de lis that denotes it, is engraved over the cross pattée
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.”