1 Spur-ryal - James I 3rd Coinage

The spur-ryal was a revival of a denomination that had lapsed since Edward VI, reintroduced under James I as part of his sweeping third coinage reform of 1619. That reform was itself a response to chronic undervaluation of English gold relative to the Continent — bullion was flowing out of the kingdom, and the Privy Council had spent the better part of a decade arguing about how to stop it.

James died in March 1625, cutting this coinage short. Surviving examples from the final years of the issue are notably scarcer than early strikes.