MEDAL. S2S 
Gold was firft iffued by Robert II. about 30 years after 
Edward III. of England bad coined the fame metal in 
that country. The pieces were at firft called St. Andrews, 
from the figure of that tutelar faint upon the crofs, and 
who appears on the ohverfe with the arms of Scotland, 
and on the reverfe a lion in a fliield. The lion was ano¬ 
ther name for the largeft gold coin in Scotland, from the 
arms of the kingdom upon it. The next was the unicorn, 
under James III. which were followed by the bonnet- 
pieces of James V. Thefe laft are of admirable workman- 
fhip, being almoft equal to the ancient coins in this 
refpecf. In imitation of the French, the monarch we 
fpeak of diminiftied the fize of the coin without leffening 
its weight; an improvement not adopted by the Englifli 
for a whole century. The laft gold coined in Scotland 
was the piftole and half-piftole, of twelve and fix pounds 
Scots. Thefe coins have the fun under the head. The 
gold coins of Scotland fell in the fame proportion with 
she filver. 
The copper coinage of Scotland, though more current 
than that of England, is not of fo early a date as fome 
would afcribe to it. Buchanan fpeaks confufedly of 
copper coinage in Scotland before James III. but in this 
lie is miftaken. James III. firft coined black farthings in 
1466 ; and this is recorded by hiltorians as one of his 
greateft faults. This kind of coinage, however, con¬ 
tinued as late as the reign of James VI. In his time the 
true copper coinage began ; but, as the value of Scottifh 
money had now declined nearly to the utmoft, the pieces 
fuddenly a (Turned a form nearly refembling that of the 
French coins. The bodle, fo called from Bothwelbthe 
mint-mafter, being equal in fize to the Hard, and worth 
two pennies Scottifh, was ftruck. The billon-coin, for¬ 
merly called has piece, and worth fix pennies Scots, was 
now coined in copper, and termed the baw bee. Thus it 
correfponded with the French half-fol and Englifli half¬ 
penny, the Scots penny being now equivalent to the 
French denier. Some pieces named Atkinfons were coined 
by James VI. in 1582, when the Scottifh money was to 
the Englifli as 1 to 8 ; but, on its being ftill farther re¬ 
duced, they went for 8 pennies, a third more than the 
value of the baw-bee. Befides thefe, there were the 
hardie and the pluck, the former being worth three and the 
latter four pennies Scots. This coinage continued through 
the reigns of Charles I. and II. but Scottifh coins of the 
former are, perhaps, the fcarceft of any. 
With refpeft to the coins of Ireland, it may be ob- 
ferved, that, from, their form and fabric, the old pennies 
found in that country were ftruck by the Danes there. 
Of Anlaf, 930, and Sihtric, 994, there are coins ftruck at 
Dublin, with the infcription on dvfli, or DYFLI, Dufiin 
or Dyjlin being the real Danifti original name of that fine 
city. Coins of Donald, an Irifix monarch, probably Do¬ 
nald O’Neal, 956, are pubiifhed by Simon. Other Da- 
liifli and Irifh kings have cans. The pennies ftruck by 
Englifh monarchs in Ireland are very remarkable : fuch, 
with the name of Dublin, occur of Ethelred, 866 ; Edred, 
948 ; Edgar, 959 ; and one of Canute, 1017. And it is 
afferted by fome, that Ireland even in thofe days had 
been conquered by England ; of which, indeed, thefe 
coins feem to be a proof. None of the Irifh coins of 
Henry II. are to be met with, but we have fome of the 
coins of John ; and from his time to that of Henry V. 
the Irifh coins are known by a triangle enclofing the 
king’s head, which appears alfo upon the coins of other 
nations at this period. The harp does not appear upon 
the Irifh coins till the time of Henry VIII. Till the 
time of this monarch, the Englifli and Irifti coins are the 
fame; but the fame debafement of the coin which at that 
time took place in England extended alfo to Ireland ; 
and he coined fix-pences for Ireland, only worth four- 
pence in England. Mary iffued bale fhillings and groats 
for Ireland ; and Elizabeth’s bafe money for Ireland is 
notorious. In 1601, copper pennies and halfpence were 
coined for Ireland by Elizabeth, though (lie would not 
confent to a copper coinage in England, in 1635 a mint 
was eftablifhed in Dublin by Charles I. but the maflacre 
and difturbances in that country put a flop to it, and the 
plan was never refumed. After that maflacre, 2641, the 
papifts ftruck what are called St. Patrick’s halfpence 
and farthings, known by the legends floreat rex, re¬ 
verfe ecce grex; and the farthing, ouiescat flees. In 
Cromwell’s time, copper tokens were ftruck by towns 
and tradefmen, as in England. In 1680, halfpence and 
farthings were given by authority, with the harp and 
date. James II. arriving in Ireland from France in 1689, 
inttituted a mint, and iffued fhillings and half-crowns, 
ftruck of all the refufe metal which could be procured : 
for this purpofe fome brafs guns were ufed, fo that the 
coinage is generally called gun-money. Even this metal, 
however, foon became fo fcarce, that a diminution in its 
fize is quite apparent from June 1689 to July 1690; and, 
as the month of their mintage is marked upon them, 
this decreafe is eafily perceived. In March 1690, pennies 
of lead mixed with tin were iffued ; and on the 15th of 
June the fame year, crowns of white metal were coined ; 
but thefe are now very fcarce : they have James on horfe- 
back, with titles no longer his ; and on the reverfe the 
arms, christo victore trivmpho, with this legend 
on the rim, melioris tessera fati anno regni 1 
sexto. 
In 1722, the patent for coining halfpence and farthings 
was given to William Wood, which excited fuch difcon- 
tent in Ireland. From the fmall fize allowed by the pa¬ 
tent to thefe pieces, it w»as fuppofed that the patentee 
would have gained 6o,oool. but, as he caufed them to be 
ftruck of a fize ftill fmaller, his gains were eftimated at 
ioo,oool. The coins, however, are of admirable work- 
manfhip, and very fine copper, bearing the bed portrait 
of king George I. to be found any-where. Sir Ifaac New¬ 
ton, at that time at the head of the mint, declared that 
they were fuperior to the Englifh coins in every thing 
except the fize. In 1737 the Irifh halfpence and farthings 
were again coined of juft fize and weight, with the harp 
on the reverfe ; and the like are continued to this day. 
As they have no mint in Ireland, they are all coined 
here, and fent to that kingdom. In 1760, the fcarcity 
of copper coin in Ireland was relieved by a fociety of Irifh 
gentlemen, who obtained leave to coin halfpence ; which 
appeared with a very bad portrait of George II. and voce 
populi round it. Since the abolition of the mintere&ed 
by Charles I. which happened about 1640, no gold or 
filver coins have been ftruck with the Irifti badge, but 
copper only. 
Of Modern Medals, properly fo called. 
In the middle ages medals were quite unknown. Till 
the fifteenth century no medals appear of any country in 
Europe, if we except Scotland, which can boaft of gold 
medals of David II. 1330—1370, ftruck in England during 
his captivity. Only two of them are known to exift ; 
one in the colleftion of Mr. Barker of Birmingham, and 
the other in that of Dr. Hunter. But it is exactly copied 
from the noble of the firft coinage of our Edw. III. (fig. 38.) 
with whom David was contemporary ; the only difference 
is in the arms. In 1487, there is a medal of James III. 
fent to the fhrine of St. Amboife in France. It is de- 
fcribed as of two inches and a third in diameter; the 
weight near two ounces; having on the obverfe a beard- 
lefs king, with long hair, fitting on a throne, holding in 
one hand a naked fword ; in the other a fhield, with the 
Scottifh arms. On the borders of the canopy above the 
throne is an infcription in Gothic letters, in mi deffen, 
“ In my defence ;” a common motto in the Scottifh arms. 
Above the canopy is villa berwichi; the reverie bears 
St. Andrew and his crofs, salvum fac populum tuum, 
domine. There is aifo a medal of James IV. in the col¬ 
lar of St. Michael, having on the reverfe a Doric pillar 
furmounted by a young Janus, Handing on a hill, beyond 
which is the fea, and land on either fide. This, however, 
is by fome fufpefled to be a forgery. The moft remark¬ 
able Scottifh medals are thofe of the unfortunate Mary, 
i The 
