JOURNAL OF JOHN LAUDER

xliv

countries, as the pound or sovereign has now become. This
enlightened policy, though it had lasting effects, soon broke
down in detail. In England the shilling proved too strong
for the unite, and in Scotland the merk maintained its hold.
To prevent the exportation of gold, the value of the unite
of 154 grains was raised to 22s. in 161~, though the king
had himself proposed rather to low er the weight of silver.
That caused confusion, on account of the unaptness for tale
of the gold pieces at their enhanced value, and a lighter 20s.
piece of 140 grains was issued in 1619 for England only,
known as the laurel piece, from the wreath round the king's
head. In Scotland the original unite remained, and was some-
times called the 20 merk piece, to which value it roughly
corresponded. It was repeated in the coinage of Charles 1.,
the last sovereign who coined gold in Scotland prior to the
Revolution. Thus it was the onl)' Scottish 9.0s. sterling piece.
Charles J.'s unite or double angel (20s. piece) for England was
of the same lighter weight as the laurel. In 1661 the value
of the gold coin was again heightened, the old unite to 23s. 6d"
and the lighter English unite to 21 s. 4d.

The above information is necessary in order to identify
the two gold coins which Lauder used. He generalty calls
the larger the Jacobus and the smaller the Carolus. At p. 80
the one is mentioned as the Scotes and English Jacobuses,
which we call 14 pound pei ces; and the other as the new
Jacobus, which we cal the 20 shiling sterling peice.' At
p. 154 he speaks of 10 Caroluses, or 20 shiliug peices,' so
that the new Jacobus and the Carolus are the same. «'hile
there was only one weight of Scots gold piece of the issue
value of 20s. sterling, in Englaad during the reigns of
James i., Charles i., and Charles n. there were four 1, the
sovereign of James J, (1 i 2 grains); 2, the unite or double angel
of James (154 grains), the same as in Scotland 3, the laurel

1 The weights are given in rounù number.