1 Plack - Mary I 1st Period

Mary I's first period coinage was struck before her marriage to Francis, Dauphin of France in 1558 — a union that would fundamentally alter Scotland's political position and trigger a complete overhaul of the coinage. The plack denomination itself had been a workhorse of Scottish petty commerce since James III, and by Mary's reign the billon content had been progressively debased to the point where this issue carries barely a whisper of silver.

Spink 5437 is among the more readily attributable of Mary's complex plack series, though die variety attribution remains a persistent challenge given the crude striking conditions typical of mid-16th century Scottish minting at Edinburgh.