Watch List notes:

SCOTLAND. Hat (4 Pound) Piece, 1592. Edinburgh Mint. James VI. NGC AU-50.
S-5457; Fr-43; Burns-2 (fig. 952). Sixth Coinage, Before Accession to the English Throne. The pale yellow tone across the high points is framed by rich crimson and tangerine iridescence in the protected areas. The strike is ideally centered and intricately detailed, with complete beaded borders on both sides. Minor hairlines are found under scrutiny but the surfaces remain well composed and smooth. A minor edge split is visible at 1 o'clock and a flaw is noted in the field below A of IACOBVS. Very attractive and remarkably sharp for the type.

The hat piece, or Scottish 4 pounds, was a proposed solution to the disarray of obsolete gold coinage in circulation at the time. With a wide variety of weights, finenesses, and even excessive clipping, they placed a troublesome "inconvenience" upon commerce, as noted by Burns. He goes on to explain that under the Act of Parliament of August 6th 1591, all the gold coins in circulation were directed to be recalled and "reduceit and stricken" into these new hat pieces, with the exception of the "new" thistle nobles. Together, the hat pieces and thistle nobles corresponded with the two coinage standards employed in England, and aimed to create a more unified system. However, this plan was evidently ineffective, as the hat piece was produced for just three years before being replaced by the gold rider in the seventh coinage. As such, survivors are rare in all grades and only about a half dozen examples have sold at auction in the past 15 years. This specimen represents an absolutely significant opportunity for specialists.

From the Loch Ness Collection.

Estimate: $25000 - $35000