20 Shillings - James VI 4th Coinage

James VI's fourth coinage was authorised following the Act of 1581, which attempted to stabilise a Scottish monetary system badly disrupted by years of regency government and debasement controversies. The 20-shilling piece — the "sword and sceptre" dollar, as it was commonly called — was Scotland's answer to the large silver crowns circulating across continental Europe, struck at a time when the teenage king had only recently assumed personal rule after the fall of the Morton regency.

Sp.5489 is among the scarcer varieties of the type. The Edinburgh mint's output during 1582–85 was constrained by chronic shortages of bullion, a recurring problem that plagued Scottish minting throughout the sixteenth century.