Scotland James III Silver Groat 1460-1488AD Main issue 1484-88AD Edinburgh

Scotland James III Silver Groat 1460-1488AD Main issue 1484-88AD Edinburgh

24mm, 2.90g

An extraordinary portrait of James, very short issue and extremely rare, especially so in this high grade.

In the last years of his reign, James III ‘struck some remarkable groats and half-groats with his three-quarter bust facing left, quite different from the profile busts on Italian coinage. The name of the artist is unfortunately unknown, but its resemblance to contemporary panel portraits shows it to represent a true likeness of the king. This tour de force is an isolated phenomenon, portraiture not being repeated again until late in the reign of James V (1526).’ Grierson, p.202