| Coin | Unite of King James I, Fifth Bust, 1613 - 1619 |
|---|
|
The Unite was the second English gold coin first produced during the reign of King James I. It was named after the legends on the coin indicating the king's intention of uniting his two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The unite was valued at twenty shillings until 1612 when the increase in the value of gold throughout Europe caused it to be raised to twenty-two shillings (264 pence).
The gold unite was replaced by the milled gold Guinea in 1663, and a twenty shilling coin did not reappear until the Sovereign of 1817. |
|
|
| Obverse | |
|---|
Within a beaded border, the obverse depicts the fifth bust of King James I. The king is facing right and wears a lace collar and ornate armour. He is crowned with Saint Edward's Crown which was traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century. In his right hand, the king holds a sceptre ending with a fleur-de-lys, the symbol of royal France. In his left hand is another royal symbol - an orb topped by an ornate cross.
The inscription around the rim reads · IACOBVS. D: G: MAG: BR: FR: ET: HIB: REX · - abbreviated from IACOBVS DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX, which means "James, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland" in Latin. The legend reflects the king's claim to the throne of France, which he did not actually rule. Note that the abbreviations seem to vary.
A small symbol before the legend represents a privy mark; in this photo, it is a plain cross |
|
|
| Reverse | |
|---|
Within a beaded border, the reverse design of the coin features the crowned square royal shield with the combined arms of England and France (1 & 4) - England represented by three lions "passant guardant" and France represented by three fleurs-de-lys, Scotland (2) - a rampant lion, and Ireland (3) - harp.
Separated by the shield, the king's monogram IR (from IACOBVS REX - James, King).
The inscription around is preceded by a small symbol representing the mint mark (a plain cross in this photo), and reads · FACIAM · EOS · IN · GENTEM · VNAM · (I will make them one nation), referring to the King's desire to rule the joined kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. |
|
| Reverse Inscription |
IR · FACIAM · EOS · IN · GENTEM · VNAM · |
|---|
|
| Edge | Thin | Edge Inscription | None |
|
| Notes | As with most Medieval coins, the mass of the gold unites varies - due to not only the irregularities in the production method, but also to the practice of "clipping" the coins, where people clipped off some of the gold around the edges.
Privy marks: cinquefoil (1613 - 1615), tun (1615 - 1616), book on lectern (1616 - 1617), crescent (1617 - 1618), plain cross (1618 - 1619), or a saltire cross (1619). |
|---|
|
Search for England: Unite of King James I, Fifth Bust, 1613 - 1619 on eBay 