1 Bawbee - William II

William II of Scotland — William III of England — faced persistent copper coinage shortages throughout the 1690s, partly because the Scottish and English mints operated under separate authority and Scotland lacked reliable access to refined copper stock. The 1697 bawbee was struck at the Edinburgh Mint in the final years before the Acts of Union effectively absorbed Scottish monetary administration into the London framework.

Spink 5693 is notoriously prone to weak central strikes due to inadequate die pressure at Edinburgh during this period — not a grading caveat, but a documented production characteristic of the type.