1/2 Penny - John Balliol 1st Coinage

John Balliol's kingship was itself a product of arbitration — Edward I of England adjudicated the succession dispute following the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, and selected Balliol in 1292 largely because he judged him the more controllable claimant. The halfpenny of his first coinage belongs to a reign that lasted less than four years before Edward stripped Balliol of his kingship in 1296, tearing the arms from his surcoat in a deliberate act of humiliation that earned the king his enduring nickname: Toom Tabard, the empty coat.

Surviving halfpennies of this issue are genuinely scarce — the low weight of fractional silver made such pieces vulnerable to loss and gave them poor prospects for long-term survival in the ground.