The Bank of Scotland issued yesterday a limited edition of
the new currency, the merk, along with the smaller coin, the bawbee.
Professor
Gavin McTaggart, a former chief economist at the Scotland Office, welcomes the
re-introduction of the merk and the bawbee saying it helps to
re-establish Scottish identity by reverting to the original coinage used in the
16th century.
In
fact the bawbee, Scotland’s best-known coin, was first issued in 1539 and
continued to be struck until 1697, but it died finally with the Union of the
Parliaments in 1707.
The
re-introduction of these ancient Scottish coinages is yet another symbol of the
growing confidence of Scotland as a country prepared for the 21st
century.
Already the merk has become a valuable collectors item
retailing well above its market value of £1 on e-Bay.
Get one while you can. Be sure to check though that you have
the genuine article and it bears the correct date: 32nd March 2015.
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