44 Shillings - Mary I 1st Period, 2nd Issue

Mary I's first period of rule in Scotland — before her return from France following Francis II's death in 1560 — saw a coinage administered largely in her absence, with regents managing monetary affairs on her behalf. This 44 shilling denomination is peculiar to Scottish gold of the period: an attempt to rationalize values against the French écu and English sovereign simultaneously, reflecting the competing political gravitational pulls on the Scottish crown in the late 1550s.

Spink 5395 is genuinely scarce in any condition. Surviving examples appear disproportionately in institutional collections, suggesting limited private circulation even at issue.