Halfgroat of David II

This is the first of two coins that came in from Tim Pickard. I was asked to provide the finder with a full ID and a valuation.

Coin number one is a hammered silver halfgroat of David II of Scotland, whose dates are 1329 to 1371. David, the son of Robert Bruce, was only five years old when he came to the throne.

This halfgroat was struck during Kin David’s second coinage, which commenced in 1357 and ended in 1367. On the obverse is an older head of the king facing left with a sceptre in front. The reverse bears a similar design to English halfgroats but has mullets instead of three pellets in each angle. The inner legend reads VILL AED InBV RhG, which indicates it was struck at the mint situated in Edinburgh.

Tim’s halfgroat is an example of series C. It’s a very rare variety with a small letter D in the first quarter of the reverse. In Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands this variety of series C is listed as number 5110.

Valuation

The coin has a tiny edge chip at the top of the obverse but is otherwise in about VF condition, so to a keen collector of Scottish hammered silver it should be worth around £300.

Valuation Service

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