Gold Quarter-Unit, Charles I, Third Coinage

Images(4)

Quarter-Unit (Charles I, Third Coinage)

Designer Nicholas Briot (Damblain, France, c.1579 - 1646)

IssuerIssued by King Charles I (Dunfermline, Scotland, 1600 - 1649)

Date1637 - 1642

Object NameQuarter Unit

Mediumgold

ClassificationsCoins

Dimensions21 x 0.5mm, 2.49gm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1995 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS027600

Keywords

Other Titles

Britain Crown

About MeIn 1635 Nicholas Briot, a master engraver from France, was appointed by Charles I to take charge of the Edinburgh Mint. Briot had previously worked in Paris and London where he had attempted, with limited success, to introduce machinery to the process of coin minting.

One of the first gold coins struck by Briot's screw-press machines was the Britain crown. The near-perfect circularity of this coin is an achievement of the machine but the delicate left-facing portrait is a tribute to Briot's engraving skill.

Although Briot's new methods encountered the same opposition from mint employees in Edinburgh as they had in London and Paris, neither the quality of the new product nor the efficiency of its manufacture could be easily disputed.