12 Shillings - Charles I 3rd Coinage, 1st Issue

Charles I's Scottish coinage was administered separately from his English issues, struck at the Edinburgh mint under a royal patent system that gave the master moneyer considerable latitude — and considerable opportunity for profit through weight manipulation. The 12 shilling was the largest silver denomination of the 3rd Coinage, authorized following a general revaluation of Scottish silver that had been debated since 1633. Production ran for barely two years before the catastrophic collapse of royal authority in Scotland, triggered in no small part by Charles's disastrous attempt to impose the Anglican prayer book on the Presbyterian Kirk in 1637.

The timing is inseparable from the coin's brief issue window.