Uncovering The Rich History Of Scotsman Coins Creve Coeur A Numismatists Paradise

Getting Into Scottish Coin Collecting From Creve Coeur

Creve Coeur is one of those St. Louis suburb spots that quietly sits on top of a decent coin scene. Not flashy. Just regular shops, occasional shows, and enough people trading silver dollars to keep things moving. But if you're actually looking into Scotsman coins, the conversation changes pretty fast. Scottish coins are a niche within a niche. Most collectors here deal in Morgan dollars or maybe some colonial stuff. You walk into a shop and ask about Scottish currency, and you might get polite confusion. That's fine. It means less competition when you actually find good material.

Uncovering The Rich History Of Scotsman Coins Creve Coeur A Numismatists Paradise

The history part isn't something you pick up at a casual meet. You have to dig. Scotland had its own monetary system separate from England for centuries. You've got the thistle shilling, the unicorn penny, the rough money from the James VI period, and then the post-1707 union coins that are harder to distinguish from English work of the same era. What makes this interesting locally is that Creve Coeur sits near enough to major dealers who occasionally pull Scottish material through auction houses. You won't find a dedicated Scottish shop here, but you will find people who know where to look if you ask the right questions at the right shows. I've spent probably a decade casually tracking this stuff, mostly through online groups and the odd trip into Central West Louis. The practical approach is building a relationship with one dealer who occasionally handles UK material. That dealer becomes your gatekeeper to everything else. Without one, you're basically shopping blind at estate sales and hoping for luck.

Where To Actually Look

The St. Louis area has a few legitimate coin shops that handle international material. They're scattered. Not clustered. You'll drive across town to hit three or four places that might have a drawer with British coins, and maybe one of them has Scottish stuff in it. It's a numbers game. Online is where most of the actual selection lives. eBay isn't great for beginners because attribution errors are rampant. A "British silver shilling" from 1780 might turn out to be Scottish when someone with a reference book looks at it. PCGS and NGC population reports can help, but they also sometimes misattribute early Scottish coins because the grading services themselves aren't experts on the regional varieties. Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers occasionally offer Scottish collections in their UK coin sessions. These are the most reliable sources if you can catch the auctions. The problem is timing. You're often bidding against specialists in London or Edinburgh who know exactly what they're looking at. That doesn't mean you can't win, but you need to understand what you're bidding on before the hammer drops.

What To Look For

Start with the union coins. Post-1707 Scottish coinage shares design elements with English coins, but there are subtle differences in die work and metal composition that separate them. The key is learning to read the mint marks and the weight standards. Pre-1707 coins are a different category entirely. They have their own denomination systems, and the gold versus silver ratios shifted enough during the Stewart period that dating can be tricky without a proper reference. The unicorn shilling from the James VI era is one of the more recognizable pieces. It's also one of the most counterfeited because it's desirable. I once bought what I thought was an authentic example at a show, brought it home, and measured the weight. It was two grams light. The reverse field had machine marks that didn't match period tooling. I returned it the next day. The dealer was honest about it and refunded without arguing, which is more than you get everywhere.

Common Mistakes

Beginners usually overpay for cleaned coins because they look shiny and attractive. A cleaned Scottish coin is worth significantly less than an original surface example, and the difference isn't always obvious without magnification. Bring a 10x loupe to every purchase. It takes thirty seconds and saves you from a lot of bad buys. Another issue is buying into attributed sets. Someone will offer you a "complete set of Scottish thistle shillings" and charge a premium. Those sets are often cobbled together from different eras, different compositions, and varying quality levels. You end up paying more than the individual coins are worth because the set narrative sounds appealing. It usually isn't. There's also the problem of confusing Scottish coins with English coins from the same period. After the union, many coins bear Scottish motifs but were struck in London mints. The distinction matters for value and for understanding what you actually own. When in doubt, consult the Standard Catalogue of British Coins. It's the reference most serious collectors rely on, and it covers the Scottish material in detail.

Building Knowledge

The best way to get started is to attend a regional show. There are a couple per year in the St. Louis area that draw enough dealers to make it worth the drive. You don't need to buy anything. Walk around, look at what's on the tables, ask questions. Dealers will tell you what they know if you sound like you're making an honest effort. Online forums like Coin Community Forum have sections dedicated to British and Scottish coinage. The people there are usually willing to help with attribution questions if you post clear photos and describe what you're trying to identify. I've used those forums repeatedly over the years for second opinions on coins I was considering purchasing. Local groups exist too. The St. Louis Coin Club holds monthly meetings, and they occasionally feature specialized topics. Scottish coins might not come up often, but the general coin knowledge you pick up applies everywhere. Learning to authenticate a Morgan dollar teaches you visual skills that transfer directly to evaluating Scottish material.

The Financial Side

Scottish coins aren't cheap, but they're not in the same price tier as major American rarities. You can find common Scottish silver denominations in the low hundreds if you shop around. Rare pieces go for thousands, obviously. The market is smaller than the US coin market, which means prices can be more volatile. A popular Scottish type might spike in value one year and drop the next because a private collection surfaced and flooded the market. If you're collecting purely for investment, this probably isn't the place to start. The liquidity is lower, the buyer pool is smaller, and you're competing with specialists who treat this as their primary focus. If you're collecting because you're genuinely interested in the history and the coins, the financial aspect matters less. The satisfaction comes from the hunting and the learning. Creve Coeur and the surrounding St. Louis area give you access to enough resources to get started without traveling across the country. It won't replace specialized UK auctions or direct relationships with British dealers, but it's a workable foundation. The key is patience and willingness to learn the differences that separate a good purchase from a mediocre one.