Balliol's kingship was itself a legal construction — imposed by Edward I of England following the Great Cause, the succession dispute adjudicated at Norham in 1291-92. His coinage accordingly follows the established Scottish penny format inherited from Alexander III, a deliberate continuity that projected legitimacy for a reign that lacked it politically. The distinction between his first and second coinage rests primarily on the style of the lettering and the treatment of the hair, details documented in Spink and cross-referenced against the Edinburgh hoard evidence.
Balliol's renunciation of homage to Edward in 1296 effectively ended the reign. Most surviving examples derive from hoards rather than extended circulation.
Balliol's kingship was itself a legal construction — imposed by Edward I of England following the Great Cause, the succession dispute adjudicated at Norham in 1291-92. His coinage accordingly follows the established Scottish penny format inherited from Alexander III, a deliberate continuity that projected legitimacy for a reign that lacked it politically. The distinction between his first and second coinage rests primarily on the style of the lettering and the treatment of the hair, details documented in Spink and cross-referenced against the Edinburgh hoard evidence.
Balliol's renunciation of homage to Edward in 1296 effectively ended the reign. Most surviving examples derive from hoards rather than extended circulation.