Scotland 1594 rider Fr-44
The first specimen was lot 391 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 6,500 CHF (about US$7,890 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Grossbritannien | Schottland. James VI. 1567-1625. Rider 1594, Edinburgh. Seventh coinage. NGC AU50. (Great Britain, Scotland, James VI, 1567-1625, rider of 1594, Edinburgh mint, seventh coinage.)"
The second specimen was lot 33266 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $11,400. The catalog description[2] noted, "The Finest Certified Example of this Popular King on Horseback Gold Issue, SCOTLAND. Rider (5 Pound Piece), 1594. Edinburgh Mint. James VI. NGC AU-58. Obverse: King in armor and with sword, on horseback riding right; Reverse: Crowned shield. On the precipice of Mint State and quite RARE thus, this being the finest example of the type certified by NGC. In addition to the admirable surface quality, the strike is quite crisp, with most of the details on the rider on horseback bold and complete. An infrequent opportunity for collectors of Scottish gold." Friedberg notes this type for 1593-1601. A half rider also exists. This may have been intended to be an imitation of the Dutch cavalier d'or, also called a gold rider, that weighed 10 grams.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.09 g, 0.917 fine gold, 27 mm diameter, the first specimen 5.08 g, the second specimen 5.00 g.
Catalog reference: KM 18, Spink 5458; Burns-4/5, Fr-44.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Man & Lundy), Pre-Decimal Issues, 2nd edition, London: Spink & Son, 2003.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction, featuring the Richard Margolis Collection, Part III, and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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