Watch List notes:

SCOTLAND. Half Unicorn, ND (1488-1513). Edinburgh Mint; mm; lis. James IV. NGC MS-62.
S-5320; Fr-19; Burns-1 (fig. 660). Weight: 1.88 gms. An absolutely magnificent survivor of this fantastical type, with surfaces that glow with satiny luster and warm yellow-gold tone. The reverse is ideally centered while the obverse is double struck and slightly drawn toward 12 o'clock. Very sharp across all elements and free of all but the most trivial friction. Perhaps the sole finest of this type, it shares the condition census with the Murray coin (Good Very Fine) and the LaRiviere specimen (Very Fine).

James IV's most notable achievement would not pay dividends for generations: his marriage to Henry VII's daughter Margaret bore fruit and paved the way for his grandson, James VI of Scotland, to become James I of England as a result of the Tudor blood in his veins. Despite this important alliance with England, James IV sided with France when England crossed the Channel to invade. Though the Scottish-French connection was made law through an older alliance, it proved disastrous: James IV was killed at Flodden when he invaded England in 1513. James IV was the last Scottish king to speak Scottish Gaelic and the last British monarch to be killed in battle.

From the Loch Ness Collection.

Ex: David McDonald Collection (Dix Noonan Webb - 10/2004) Lot #695.

Ex: Dr. James Davidson Collection, Part I (Dix Noonan Webb - 10/2003) Lot # 876.

Ex: Acquired from Baldwin's (10/1969).

Estimate: $10000 - $15000