Watch List notes:

SCOTLAND. Short Cross Lion (Scottish Crown or St. Andrew), ND (1390-1403). Robert III. NGC EF-40.
S-5155; Fr-4; Burns-11 (fig. 384). Heavy Coinage, Second Issue. Bright yellow-gold surfaces with strong luster in the protected areas. Somewhat weak at the centers but sharp at the borders with intact legends. Strong eye appeal despite minor friction in the fields. A RARE issue with fewer than a half-dozen examples sold publicly in the past 15 years.

Ordered by the Act of October 24th, 1393, the lion or Scottish crown was to be made of "good gold" with presumably equal fineness to the English noble at 23 and 7/8 carats fine. These coins are sometimes called a gold "St. Andrew" after the eponymous crucifixion portrayed on the reverse. Burns points out that this nickname was a modern phenomena, as "the name commonly given to these pieces when they were current coins was lions or Scottish crowns." Survivors remain RARE in all grades, and this piece is surely among the finest known.

From the Loch Ness Collection.

Estimate: $3500 - $5500