A Collection of Scottish Coins The Property of a Gentleman (Part II)

Robert III (1390-1406), Heavy coinage, Second issue, Heavy coinage, Second issue, Groat, Perth, mm. cross potent, tressure of seven arcs, trefoils on cusps, trefoil on breast, double crosslet stops, nothing after scottorvm, rev. three pellets in quarters of cross, no punctuation in outer circle, uncertain in inner, 2.86g/5h (SCBI 35, 584, same obv. die; SCBI 72, 238-40; B 25, fig. 374, same obv. die; S 5170). About very fine, the reverse extremely rare, traces of overstriking on both sides £200-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Scottish Coins, the Property of a Gentleman.

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ABC Coins February 2018

This coin is struck on a cut-down Robert II Groat of Edinburgh, the large letters showing through from the undertype. While this die, from the late Second coinage, is known, the reverse is most unusual. The lettering is from the fount used for the final Edinburgh issue in the First coinage, with double saltire stops (see lot 714), distinctly different from the lettering used on all the normal Perth coins. This fount was also used on a few Edinburgh Second coinage reverses used with early Second coinage obverse dies, which are generally considered to be Second/First coinage mules. The vendor knows of only one other Perth reverse die from this part of the coinage which is also from this letter fount. It is in the British Museum Collection but unpublished in numismatic literature.