326 
«¢ Of the ten spurious coins, five are from different dies, a 
fact which proves that forgery was carried on to a great extent, 
and in a systematic manner; nor is it at all surprising that they 
should be found associated with genuine coins, for one of the 
most notorious swindlers of the present day is in the habit of 
offering for sale genuine coins mixed up with forgeries. 
‘The spuriousness of those coins is at once detected by 
the separation of the metallic discs at the margin, but inde- 
pendent of this evidence, their deficiency in weight would 
enable a well-informed numismatist to pronounce without he- 
sitation that they were not genuine regal coins. The central 
piece of copper was evidently intended to impart weight and 
solidity, yet, even with this addition, most of them are little 
more than half the legal weight of the groats of David and 
Robert, which should be about sixty-one grains, whereas the 
average weight of the ten false coins is a fraction less than 
thirty-seven grains, the heaviest being forty-eight grains, and 
the lightest thirty-one; of the four genuine coins, one groat 
weighs fifty-seven grains, and one of the half-groats weighs 
thirty grains. 
«To determine, as near as possible, the period at which 
these forgeries were fabricated, it is necessary to refer to a few 
particular dates. David II., when only five years old, suc- 
ceeded to the throne of Scotland in 1329. He was dethroned 
within a couple of years and retired to France, from whence he 
was recalled in 1342. On the 17th of October, 1346, he was 
taken prisoner at the battle of Neville’s Cross, and committed 
to the Tower of London, from which imprisonment he was 
released in 1357, by Edward III., for a ransom of 100,000 
marks. He died in 1371, and was succeeded by his maternal 
uncle, Robert II., who died in 1390. 
«In 1347, it was ordained by Act of Parliament that all 
good money of England should be received within the realm 
of Scotland, according to its true value in England. 
«In 1358, David, King of Scotland, came in person to 
