1 Groat - Robert III Light Coinage

Robert III's Light Coinage of 1403–1406 was a direct response to the chronic shortage of bullion that plagued the Scottish economy in the early fifteenth century. By reducing the weight of the groat, the Crown could strike more coins from available silver — a debasement measure that was politically contentious but financially unavoidable given Scotland's limited mine output and the persistent drain of specie southward through trade imbalances with England.

Robert III himself was by this point effectively sidelined by his son the Duke of Rothesay's death in 1402 and the subsequent dominance of his brother Albany as Governor of Scotland. The coinage policy almost certainly originated with Albany's administration rather than the ailing king.