There were a number of

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

s in Scotland, for the production of the

Scottish coinage From until 1709 the coinage of Scotland was unique, and minted locally. A wide variety of coins, such as the plack, bodle, bawbee, dollar and ryal were produced over that time. For trading purposes coins of Northumbria and various other places ha ...

. The most important mint was in the capital,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, which was active from the reign of

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

(1124–1153), and was the last to close, in the 19th century. Carlisle was probably the first Scottish mint in 1136. According to Bateson, David I began to mint coins after capturing the city.Bateson: ''Scottish Coins'' Mints at

Bamburgh Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census. The village is notable for the nearby Bamburgh Castle, a castle which was the seat of ...

and

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was kno ...

in Northumberland, under the control of David's son Henry, Earl of Northumberland, later returned to English control. Under Alexander III (1249–1286) there were 16 mints. In the reign of

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

(1488–1513), the sole mint was located at Edinburgh. After this time, the only other active mint was at

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, where

bawbee A bawbee was a Scotland, Scottish sixpence. The word means a debased copper coin, valued at six pence Scots (equal at the time to an English half-penny), issued from the reign of James V of Scotland to the reign of William III of England, William ...

s were minted under Queen Mary. In 1581 the mint in Edinburgh was relocated to the environs of Cardinal

David Beaton David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation. Career Cardinal Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of eleven children of John Beaton (Bethune) of Bal ...

's lodging, which then belonged to Archibald Stewart. The buildings became the property of the mint master Thomas Acheson. The site, near the

Cowgate The Cowgate ( Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the ele ...

, is now commemorated by the street name "Coinyie House Close".Winifred Coutts, ''The Business of the College of Justice in 1600'' (Edinburgh: Stair Society, 2003), pp. 444-5. Minting ceased in Scotland in 1709 when the Edinburgh Mint produced its last batch of coins at the end of the 1707–1710 Scottish recoinage, although it retained its permanent officials (though not other staff) for a further hundred years, until 1814. The mint was finally abolished in 1817 and sold in 1830.The Scottish Mint after the recoinage, 1709–1836
Athol L Murray, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1999 The title of 'Governor of the Mint of Scotland', which passed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer under the

Coinage Act 1870 The Coinage Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 10) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It stated the metric weights of British coins. For example, it defined the weight of the sovereign as 7.98805 grams (about 123.27747 grains). The Act was ...

, was finally abolished with the passing of the Coinage Act 1971.

Mints

References

Bibliography

* * Donald Bateson. ''Scottish Coins''. Shire Publications Ltd., Bucks, 1987, * James Mackay – John Mussel (eds.): Coin Price Guide to British coins, Token Publishing Ltd, Axminster, Devon * Ian Halley Stewart. ''The Scottish Coinage'', Spink & Son, London, 1955 Currencies of Scotland Economic history of Scotland Coins of Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Scottish exchequer {{Scotland-poli-stub