20 Pence - Charles I 3rd Coinage, 4th Issue

Scotland's copper coinage of Charles I is well documented, but the silver fraction issues of the 3rd Coinage remain comparatively obscure. This piece belongs to the period immediately preceding the Bishops' Wars, when Charles's attempts to impose Anglican-style worship on Presbyterian Scotland had already fractured relations beyond repair. The Edinburgh mint was still functioning under royal authority, but the political ground was shifting fast — within two years of this issue's final date, Charles had effectively lost control of Scottish ecclesiastical and civil governance entirely.

Spink 5589 is distinguished within the series by its specific privy mark sequence, the key identifier separating the 4th Issue from adjacent strikings.