David II (1329-1371), Second coinage, Class A, Groat, class A01, Edinburgh, mm. cross pattée...

David II (1329-1371), Second coinage, Class A, Groat, class A01, Edinburgh, mm. cross pattée, small young bust, tressure of seven arcs, nothing in spandrels, saltire stops, ornate v in david, 4.64g/9h (SCBI 35, 364, same obv. die; B 8, fig. 254, same obv. die; S 5091). Better than very fine, toned, very rare £300-£400 --- Provenance: Bt Spink May 1987 Lord Stewartby updated his original listing of Class A Groats in ‘The Scottish Coinage’ in the following articles - ‘Unpublished Scottish Coins II’ (NC 1956) and ‘A 14th Century Hoard of Scottish Groats from Balleny Townland Co. Down’ (BNJ 1964), pointing out features which suggested that certain groats should be positioned very early in the series, perhaps right at the start. The vendor has designated such groats as A01-A03. The current specimen has three such features, (a) the ornate letter U used to represent the V of king’s name, (b) the tressure of seven arcs which appears to be an early experimental feature and soon abandoned and (c) a very large central pellet in the head of the sceptre. The obverse die of this coin is as Balleny Townland Hoard no. 1. Many of the early dies vary considerably in detail from one to another, suggesting die-cutters were innovating and experimenting before later settling on a formula for a sustained production run.