Scotland, James VI 1593 Hat Piece AU55

Scotland, James VI (1567-1625), gold "Hat piece" of Eighty Shillings or Four Pounds, sixth coinage (1591-93), 1593, bearded bust of King right in tall Renaissance style hat, thistle behind, Latin legend and beaded borders surrounding both sides, initial mark cinquefoil, .IACOBVS. 6. D. G. R. SCOTORVM. rev. crowned Scottish lion with sceptre raised to heavenly cloud, Jehovah in Hebrew script in cloud, initial mark cinquefoil, stop after date in legend, .TE. SOLVM. VEREOR. 1593. weight 4.41g (Burns 5 fig.952; S.5457). Toned with a wonderful rendition of the King in the Renaissance style, good very fine and extremely rare; has been graded and slabbed by NGC as AU55, tying for the finest graded with that service, with a great provenance.

The coinage of these Thistle Nobles was ordered on the 6^th August 1591 by Act of Privy Council at 22 carats fineness, and were the first gold coins of Scotland to adopt this fineness, of which all gold coins of Scotland and that of Great Britain have been struck ever since. All previous gold coins issued were called in for recoinage apart from the Thistle Nobles of 1588-90 at this time and the coinage was issued for three dates 1591, 1592 and 1593 like we have offered here.

The Latin legends translate as on the obverse "James the Sixth, by the grace of God, King of Scotland" and on the reverse "Thee alone do I fear."

Provenance:

Ex C F Gilboy Collection, Glendining, 14^th May 1975, lot 50

Ex Spink Numismatic Circular, February 1976.

Ex St James Auction 14, 30^th September 2010, lot 483.

Ex A H Baldwin & Sons Ltd, Fixed Price List, Winter 2010, SC002.