1 Penny - James III Type A

James III inherited the Scottish throne at age eight following his father's death at the siege of Roxburgh in 1460, and the crown's financial difficulties throughout his reign were chronic. Billon coinage — an alloy debased enough to signal fiscal strain — was the practical answer to a treasury perpetually short of silver. Type A pennies predate his later monetary experiments, including the controversial black money issues of the 1480s that triggered a baronial revolt partly fueled by public refusal to accept the debased currency.