Scotland 1664 4 merks Dav-3786
This specimen was lot 41540 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $2,160. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Historic 1664 Charles II Half Merk, Pedigree to 1903, SCOTLAND. 4 Merks, 1664. Edinburgh Mint; mm: thistle. Charles II. NGC F Details--Obverse Damage. First Coinage. Very attractive with dark lilac-grey tone and smooth surfaces. Well centered with nearly full denticles and uniform detail throughout. A pair of small but deliberate punches are noted at the portrait's jaw line. These marks are undoubtedly ancient and now serve as convenient pedigree markers. A RARE issue with perhaps fewer than 10 distinct pieces sold at auction in the past 15 years. This is among the more desirable survivors with an impressive pedigree stretching back to 1903 through many significant collections. From the Loch Ness Collection. Ex: Spink (9/2006) Lot # 502. Ex: Harrington Manville Collection. Ex: Clonterbrook Trust Collection (Glendining - 6/1974) Lot # 341. Ex: Lockett Collection (Glendining - 10/1960) Lot # 950. Ex: Bearman Collection (Baldwin 1922) purchased en bloc. Ex: Wakley Collection (Sotheby's - 12/1909) Lot # 347 (part). Ex: Murdoch Collection (Sotheby's - 5/1903) Lot # 342 (part)."
A merk was originally forty shillings Scots in the sixteenth century. Both the merk and the Scots shilling shrank in the intervening years and this four merks appears to have traded for 53 shillings and fourpence. The exchange rate between Scottish and English coinage varied but during this reign, 60 shillings = one English crown. This type was struck 1664 only. A closely related variety (KM 104.2) was struck 1664, 1670-74 with a thistle below the bust.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, approx. 26.5-26.6 g, this specimen 26.35 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-3786, S-5604; KM-104.1; Burns-1 (fig. 1048).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- 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 the Coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man, London: Coincraft, 1999.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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