Ryal or Crookston Dollar (Mary & Darnley)
Issuer
Mary, Queen of Scots
(Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, Scotland, 1542 - 1587)
AssociatedAssociated with
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
(Temple Newsam, Leeds, England, 1546 - 1567)
Date1566
Object NameRyal
Mediumsilver
ClassificationsCoins
DimensionsOverall: Diameter: 42 mm
Max.: Thickness: 2.1 mm
Weight: Weight: 30.78 gm
Max.: Thickness: 2.1 mm
Weight: Weight: 30.78 gm
AcquisitionBequeathed in 1919 by Andrew Henderson.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS011957
About MeOne of the most impressive coins of Mary's reign is the silver 30-shilling piece or ryal first minted in 1565. The obverse inscription includes the name of Henry, Lord Darnley, Mary's second husband, and raises him to the rank of King. This elevation of the reprobate Darnley is said to have infuriated the Queen. There is another reference to Darnley on the reverse of the coin on which a tortoise - one of his family emblems - is shown climbing the trunk of a tree.The strange reverse design on the silver ryal gave rise to a belief that the tree represented a yew at Crookston Castle, Glasgow under which Mary and Darnley sat while courting. Although the tale is apocryphal it provides the coin with its popular name of 'Crookeston Dollar'.
