The pound (

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

and Middle Scots: ''Pund'') was the currency of Scotland prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was introduced by David I, in the 12th century, on the

Carolingian monetary system The Carolingian monetary system, also called the Carolingian coinage system pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), a unit of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile Symbols * Po ...

divided into 20

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s, each of 12

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

. The Scottish currency was later devalued relative to

sterling Sterling may refer to: Common meanings * Sterling silver, a grade of silver * Sterling (currency), the currency of the United Kingdom ** Pound sterling, the primary unit of that currency Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city w ...

by debasement of its coinage. By the time of James III, one pound Scots was valued at five shillings sterling. Silver coins were issued denominated in merk, worth 13s.4d. Scots (two-thirds of a pound Scots). When James VI became King James I of England in 1603, the coinage was reformed to closely match sterling coin, with £12 Scots equal to £1 sterling. No gold coinage was issued from 1638 to 1700, but new silver coinage was issued from 1664 to 1707. With the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

, the pound Scots was replaced by sterling coin at the rate of 12:1 (£1 Scots = 1s.8d. stg), although the pound Scots continued to be used in Scotland as a unit of account for most of the 18th century. Today there is no distinct Scots currency; but Scotland's three largest clearing banks (the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

, the Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank) issue banknotes denominated in sterling. These notes may be accepted as payment throughout the United Kingdom, but are much more commonly seen in Scotland; their value is backed by non-circulating large denomination notes issued by the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

(the " giants" and " titans").

List of coins of the pound Scots

Pistole Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a doubloon or double escudo, the gold unit. The name was also given to the Louis d'Or of Louis XIII of France, and to other European gold coins of about the value ...

– Gold, 12 pounds Scots * Dollar – Replacement for the ryal, 60 shillings Scots (James VI) * Ryal – Gold, 1565 * Crown or Lion – Gold ( James I) * Half-crown, Demi-Lion or Demys – Gold (James I) * Ducat or "bonnet" – 40 shillings, 1539 (

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...

) * Mark or merk – Gold (giving rise to the term markland) * Noble – Gold, worth half a mark, 1357 ( David II, reintroduced by Robert III) * Unicorn – Gold, 18 shillings Scots, 1484–85 ( James III) * Half-unicorn – Gold, 9 shillings Scots (

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 Sauchi ...

) *

Testoun The English shilling was a silver coin of the Kingdom of England, when first introduced known as the testoon. A shilling was worth twelve Penny (English coin), pence, and there were 20 shillings to the pound sterling. The English shilling was i ...

– silver, 1553. Was produced in France with the new process of mill and screw, being the first milled coinage of Scotland.Stewart: ''The Scottish Coinage'' *

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 ...

– Billon, six pence from 1537 * Shilling * Groat – Silver, equivalent to four pence, from 1357 (giving rise to the term

groatland A groatland, also known as a fourpenceland, fourpennyland or “Còta bàn” (meaning "white coat") was a Scottish land measurement. It was so called, because the annual rent paid on it was a Scottish “ groat” (coin). See also * Obsolete Sc ...

) * Half-groat – Silver, equivalent to two pence, from 1357 * Turner – Billon, two pence (James VI), later copper. *

Bodle A bodle or boddle or bodwell, also known as a half groat or Turner was a Scottish copper coin, of less value than a bawbee, worth about one-sixth of an English penny. They were first issued under Charles I, and were minted until the coronation ...

– Copper, two pence ( Charles II) * Hardhead – also called Lion, billon coin circulated in the reigns of Mary and James VI *

Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

– Billon, one of the earliest coins, dating from David I. Later made of copper, giving rise to the term pennyland. * Halfpennies – Initially literally half of a penny, these became minted coins in their own right in c.1280. Later made of copper. * Farthing or quarter-penny – These were originally quarters of pennies, but as with Halfpennies, became coins in their own right in c.1280. Later made of copper. * Plack – value of four pence Scots or by 1707 one-third of a penny sterling.

References

{{Scotland topics Currencies of Scotland Economic history of Scotland Coins of Scotland 12th-century establishments in Scotland 1707 disestablishments in Scotland Medieval currencies