1 Penny - Alexander III 2nd Coinage, Class B

Alexander III's monetary reform of 1280 brought Scotland's coinage into closer alignment with the English sterling penny, a deliberate policy response to cross-border trade friction and the chronic problem of foreign coins — particularly continental imitations — circulating alongside legitimate currency. The Class B distinction within the 2nd Coinage refers to a specific arrangement of the reverse voided cross and the number of pellets in each quarter, differentiating die varieties catalogued by Stewart and others.

Alexander died in March 1286 after his horse stumbled over a cliff at Kinghorn in the dark, ending the direct male line of the House of Dunkeld and triggering the succession crisis that would eventually draw Edward I into Scottish affairs.