1/2 Penny - John Balliol 2nd Coinage

John Balliol's kingship lasted just four years before Edward I of England, who had arbitrated the succession dispute in Balliol's favor, effectively reduced him to a vassal administrator. The second coinage was struck after Balliol's council — increasingly acting independently of English pressure — reasserted Scottish governance, a defiance that ultimately led to Edward's invasion in 1296 and Balliol's forced abdication at Montrose.

Spink 5075 is among the smaller denominations of a coinage whose total output was necessarily limited by the brevity of the reign.