Scotland 1677 1/2 merk
This specimen was lot 37450 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $145. The catalog description[1] noted, "SCOTLAND. 1/8 Dollar (1/2 Merk), 1677. Edinburgh Mint. Charles II. PCGS VF-25. Second Coinage. From the Richard August Collection." 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 half merk appears to have traded for 6 shillings and eight pence, or a little more than an English sixpence (note the "VI 8" in the center of the reverse). The exchange rate between Scottish and English coinage varied but during this reign, 60 shillings = one English crown. This type was struck 1676-82 and is rare in Very Fine or better.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.40 g, 0.917 fine silver, 21 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: S-5622; KM-112.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]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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