Item number: A370

Year: AD 1292-1296

Material: Silver

Size: 15.4 x 14.6 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 0.55 g

Provenance: Noonans 2022

This is a silver ½ penny coin minted during the reign of King John Balliol of Scotland between AD 1292 and AD 1296. The obverse of the coin features a beaded border, within which is a left-facing portrait of the king holding a cross sceptre. The surrounding inscription, in Latin Uncial script, reads “IOHANNES DEI GI,” which translates to “John by the Grace of God.”

The reverse of the coin features the “Voided Long Cross” design, a style prevalent in 13th-century England and Scotland. The cross divides the coin into four quadrants, with each of the first and third quadrants containing a six-pointed star with a central depression. The outer edge of the reverse side is inscribed in Lombardic script with the legend “REX SCOTORVM,” meaning “King of Scots.”

In AD 1290, following the death of the childless Queen Margaret, known as the Maid of Norway, John Balliol, a noble of Scottish descent, was appointed as the new king of Scotland under the mediation of Edward I of England. However, Balliol’s weak response to Edward’s increasing influence over Scotland sparked dissatisfaction among the Scottish nobility. In AD 1295, the Scottish nobles formed the “Auld Alliance” with the Kingdom of France to resist English encroachment. The following year, they forced John Balliol to abdicate.

物件編號: A370

年代: 公元 1292-1296 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 15.4 x 14.6 x 0.4 mm

重量: 0.55 g

來源: 諾南斯 2022

這是一枚公元1292至1296年間，蘇格蘭國王約翰·巴里奧時期鑄造的面額 ½ 便士銀幣。錢幣正面有一道珠圈，內部是手持十字權杖的國王左側肖像，外圍是用安色爾字體的拉丁文裝飾之銘文「IOHANNES DEI GI」，意思是「受到上帝眷顧的約翰」。

錢幣背面有一道盛行於公元13世紀的英格蘭和蘇格蘭，「中空長臂十字架」造型的錢幣裝飾。背面被十字架劃分為四個象限，於珠圈內部的第一跟第三象限內，各有一個中間凹陷的六芒星裝飾。背面的外圍是以安色爾字體作為裝飾的銘文「REX SCOTORVM」，即「蘇格蘭國王」的意思。

公元1290年，無嗣的前任蘇格蘭女王挪威女孩瑪格麗特過世後，在應邀而來的英格蘭國王愛德華一世協調下，出身蘇格蘭貴冑的約翰·巴里奧成為新任國王。然而面對愛德華一世對於蘇格蘭的染指，約翰·巴里奧懦弱的表現引起蘇格蘭貴族不滿。公元1295年，蘇格蘭貴族和法蘭西王國組成「老同盟」對抗英格蘭的進逼，並在隔年逼迫約翰·巴里奧退位。