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1 Penny Plack - James VI
| Issuer | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1588 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Penny (1⁄240) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A lion rampant facing left, wearing a crown, occupying the central field within a beaded inner circle. The lion is depicted in the traditional heraldic style of the Scottish royal arms, with raised forepaws and tail curled over the body. The figure is boldly struck in the hammered tradition, though with characteristic irregularity of the plack denomination. The circumscribed Latin motto legend runs within the outer border. |
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| Reverse lettering | · VINCIT · VERITAS · (Translation: Truth conquers) |
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| Additional information |
The plack denomination had been a fixture of Scottish small coinage since James III, but by the 1580s the billon content had been so thoroughly debased that these coins were effectively copper with a token gesture toward silver. James VI's government faced chronic shortages of small change, and repeated proclamations throughout the decade attempted — mostly unsuccessfully — to regulate the exchange rate between Scottish and English coin as cross-border trade made a stable penny increasingly difficult to enforce.
Spink 5519 places this issue within a contested sequence of plack subtypes distinguished primarily by privy mark and legend punctuation.