Scotland, Charles I gold Half-Unit or Double Crown by Nicholas Briot, AU53

Scotland, Charles I (1625-49), gold Half-Unit or Double Crown, Nicholas Briot's coinage (1637-42), crowned and draped bust left to bottom of coin, the rarer styled crown on head with central English cross, B below for Briot, Latin legend and beaded borders surrounding both sides, CAR. D: G. MAG. BRIT. FRAN. ET. HIB. REX, rev. crowned quartered shield of arms, crowned C with lozenge below to left, crowned R with lozenge below to right, VNITA. TVEMVR., lozenge stops, weight 4.88g (SCBI 35: 1398; SCBI 70:117; Burns 5 fig. 1034; S.5534). Toned, fully centred strike, graded by NGC as AU 53.

NGC Certification 6945987-002 - currently the second finest graded as of April 2024.

The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Charles by the Grace of God, King of Britain, France and Ireland" and on the reverse "these united we guard."

The Lords of Secret Council had sanctioned the use of Briot's mill and screw press for the minting of coinage on the 12^th January 1637, at first for silver coins only, however, from 19^th October 1637 a warrant was issued to strike gold coins from gold supplied from the Guinea coastline by the African Company. Direction was given on 14^th December 1637 to Nicholas Briot and his son-in-law John Falconer at Edinburgh to issue Units, Halves and Quarters in the same specification as the first issue albeit now machine made by the screw press. For further reading on this issue see "the Metal in Britain's Coins" by Graham Birch.