One of the most satisfying finds in this summer's excavation of Lanark's Franciscan Friary was the discovery of a silver penny of John Balliol. This coin was found in the demolition rubble and not in a stratified level. Indeed it is interesting as it predates the foundation of Lanark Friary which was founded towards the end of the reign of Robert the Bruce. The penny is typical of the rough issue series and it is thought that it is an example of a St Andrews penny. Incidentally John Balliol did visit Lanark and it was in Lanark Castle that he received a summons to see Edward I as a man from the east coast had complained that John Balliol had not treated him fairly.This happened in 1292. As I have said Robert the Bruce founded the Friary and we reckon that we have found one of the walls of the Friary building.
Another remarkable discovery was a very tiny silver penny belonging to the rule of James II of Scotland. This was found in the rubble infill next to what was left of the Friary. It was so small that it was a miracle that it was found at all. At first the considered opinion was that the coin was actually a farthing of either Edward 1 or his luckless successor Edward II. The thing that confuses many collectors is that instead of the traditional mullets there are balls in the angles.
The size of the penny reflects the pretty parlous nature of the economy at that time. James II's reign was the period when billon coinage was introduced, this was not very popular and was referred to as black money.
The coin that was found well reflects the monetary problems that beset Scotland. As yet we do not know whether it is genuine or forged. Apparently it is similar to a coin found at the Greyfriar's, Stirling that was found to be forged.
Above is a set of photographs of a seal found by Martin Brown. It was found near the old drain which people have consistently maintained is connected with the Greyfriars monastery. How the seal came to be there of course we will never know as it was found in an area which was pretty much disturbed. The seal is unfortunately broken in two critical areas. First of all the top part of the shank is broken and more importantly the actual seal itself has disappeared. The seal dates to the about 1400 at which time the Frairy was still active.
Mediaeval Seal
