Scotland Charles I AD 1625-1649 Silver Half Merk Briot’s third coinage

Scotland Charles I AD 1625-1649 Silver Half Merk, Briot’s third coinage.

Crowned bust of King, 8 under VI, Crowned shield of arms.

S5573, 24mm, 3.37g

This coin comes from part four of the Fort collection, Late Scottish hammered coins. A carefully assembled comprehensive collection of the coins representing the final years of hammered coinage for Scotland, spanning a turbulent time where debasement was rife and the English Civil War was looming. Of note are the Briot & Falconer issues with their great artistic merit, unparalleled in the British hammered series. Coins were sourced from reputable dealers and auction houses over some 25 years. Available exclusively on our website now, each coin comes with the collector’s label, along with any other previous tickets. (FortD)

Born the second son of James I Charles became heir upon the death of his elder brother Henry in AD 1612. After an unsuccessful attempt to marry him to the Infanta of Spain Charles married the Catholic Henrietta Maria of France in AD 1625. Charles strongly believed in the divine right of kings and upon his accension to the throne in AD 1625 it was not long before he quarrelled with Parliament which tried to curb his powers. This caused increasing unrest at his attempts to raise taxes without Parliamentary consent. There was uneasiness with his religious policies in part due to his marriage to a Catholic queen. He also quarrelled with the Scottish bishops and eventually both the Scottish and English Parliaments rebelled starting the Civil War.
Having been defeated by armies raised by both Parliaments Charles eventually fled from Oxford to the north where he was captured by the Scots who handed him over to the Long Parliament in London. Refusing to accept a Constitutional monarchy Charles escaped to the Isle of Wight. Charles attempted to reassert his control but was defeated by the Parliamentarians under Cromwell who had him brought back to London and tried. This time Charles was sentenced to death and was executed in Whitehall in January AD 1649. This instigated the Commonwealth when the country was ruled as a Republic until Charles II was restored as king in AD 1660.
The reign of Charles I is one of the most interesting numismatically. Not only were many provincial mints set up, particularly during the Civil War period, some outstanding machine- made coins were produced both in England and Scotland under Nicholas Briot.