Scotland, Mary 1555 gold Three Pounds Ryal

Mary Queen of Scots (1542-67), gold Ryal of Three Pounds, 1555, portrait facing left with hair filleted and wearing pearl necklace, abbreviated Latin legend and outer beaded circle surrounding, commences lower left .MARIA. DEI. G. SCOTOR: REGINA:. trefoil at end of legend, rev. crowned Scottish Arms of lion rampant in shield, date and abbreviated Latin legend and outer beaded circle surrounding, commences upper right .IVSTVS. FIDE. VIVIT. 1555:. trefoil at end of legend, Weight 7.57g (Burns 1, fig. 817; Murray dies E/4; S.5397). An exceptional piece, the finest we have encountered of this usually worn issue, one slight weakness on reverse, a little double struck in obverse legend, otherwise toned extremely fine for issue and extremely rare.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Mary, by the Grace of God, Queen of Scotland" and on the reverse "The just man lives by faith" taken from the Bible. A great deal of the gold in the coinage of Scotland at this period was mined locally principally from Crawford Moor, when nuggets from 2 grams to 30 ounces were discovered in the reign of James I (1406-37) . Mary abdicated from the Scottish throne in 1567 in favour of her young son James VI, who later united the Kingdom of Scotland with England as Great Britain, and as King James I of England.

These Ryal gold pieces usually survive in quite poor or mounted condition but as the largest gold portrait coin of Mary Queen of Scots are very valuable. We note this piece is of the same die combination as the coin sold in the Dundee Collection sold by Spink and Bowers and Ruddy in 1976 lot 122; and for one other sold in the E W Rashleigh Collection in 1908, lot 1098; so there have only been two others of this die combination in commerce in 110 years, and the last was over 40 years ago.

Col. J K R Murray studied this coinage and published a paper listing all the die combinations in the Numismatic Chronicle of 1979, page 160 - Scottish Gold Coinage 1555-58. This coin is only the second we have seen showing the necklace and more of the hair and facial detail than usually seen for this weakly struck issue; a true Renaissance life-like portrait.

Looking back at the Coinage of Scotland by Edward Burns published in 1887, where he lists the three known dates of 1555, 1557 and 1558 for this coinage across seven varieties, he quotes the contemporary Hopetoun House manuscripts which give a total weight issued for this coinage.

From the period of the 27^th March 1555 until the 14^th February 1556 a total weight of 6 stone, 12 pounds, 4 ounces and 18 penny weights of this coinage was produced at 22 carat fineness and an official weight of 117.78 grains which equates to a full weight per coin of 7.63g today. This total weight struck that covers the period for 1555 was apparently for the Three Pounds gold coin only, and would equate to a production run of circa 5,722 examples.

The Hopetoun manuscripts go on to say that from 1556 to 1558 a further 5 stone, 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 3 penny weights were struck which covers the other years and means a further 4,548 examples were struck, giving a total production run of circa 10,270 pieces across all three dates.

With hammered gold survival rates being very small to the present day typically less than 0.5% and as low as 0.1%, there cannot be many examples left and those of this particular die combination seem to number only three in commerce.