1 Ducat - Francis and Mary 2nd Period

The "Francis and Mary" ducats of 1558 mark the brief period following the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the French Dauphin Francis in April of that year — a union that made Mary, for a matter of months in 1559–1560, simultaneously Queen of Scotland and Queen consort of France. The Scottish mint produced coinage in both names as a deliberate assertion of the dynastic alliance, though Francis died in December 1560 after reigning only seventeen months, collapsing the Franco-Scottish royal partnership entirely.

Spink 5399 distinguishes this as the second coinage period, differentiated from the first by subtle legend and portraiture die variations documented by Burns and Mackay.