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1 Demy - James II 1st Coinage, Type IVa
| Issuer | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1437-1451 |
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| Value | 1 Demy = 1/2 Lion (1/4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A crowned lion rampant occupies the centre of the field, depicted in high relief within a diamond-shaped lozenge framed by a beaded border. The lozenge is set against a plain field enclosed by a beaded inner circle. The surrounding legend reads in Gothic uncial characters separated by annulet stops, with a crown positioned above the lozenge at twelve o'clock. The overall composition is characteristic of the hammered Scottish gold coinage of the mid-fifteenth century, with the lion rendered in a bold, stylised heraldic manner. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1437-1451) |
| Additional information |
The demy — half a lion — entered Scottish coinage under James I, but this Type IVa issue belongs to the troubled reign of James II, who took the throne as a child of six following his father's murder at Perth in 1437. The regency years that bookend this coinage type were marked by factional violence among the great magnate families, most notoriously the Black Douglases, whose power James II would eventually break — fatally, in the case of the 8th Earl, stabbed by the king himself at Stirling Castle in 1452.
Spink 5217 distinguishes this variety by its specific crown and fleur-de-lis configuration, details worked out largely through the scholarship of Edward Burns and later refined by Ian Stewart.