Watch List notes:

SCOTLAND. Lion Noble (Scottish Angel), 1584. Fourth Coinage. Edinburgh Mint. James VI. NGC VF-25.
S-5453; Fr-39; Burns-1 (fig. 959). Fourth Coinage, Before Accession to the English Throne. A very attractive RARITY with pale yellow tone and warmer olive-gold near the borders. A shallow irregularity trims the legend at 9 o'clock on the obverse. The detail is otherwise sharp and uniform, rendered by well-centered strikes on both sides. Old pin scratches are noted in the obverse fields but they fail to distract from the overall appeal. Smooth and glossy with strong eye appeal, this is a remarkable coalescence of beauty and rarity.

Authorized by the Act of Parliament of May 19th 1584, the lion noble was part of the brief fourth coinage under James VI, which spanned from 1584 through 1588. These nobles, and their fractions, were the only gold issues from this period and survivors are rare in all grades. Burns points out that while they were designated "lyoun noblis" as early as 1586, they were also referred to as "Scottis angell[s]" by 1597. He attributes the latter nickname to "their nearly corresponding in module and weight with the English angel, which, however, was of much superior quality, being almost pure gold, or 23 and 1/8th carats fine." We are able to trace just a single example that has sold at public auction in the past 15 years; the Lockett-LaRiviere specimen last offered in 2006. This type was notably missing from the legendary Dundee sale, which further emphasizes its formidable rarity. This piece, with excellent eye appeal and sharpness, represents a significant and seldom encountered opportunity that may not occur again this decade.